
Class '"■ / :_ o 

Bnok •"-.;■■ 

Copyright N ° _ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Plain Reasons 

WHY ONE SHOULD ENGAGE 
IN THE BUSINESS OF 
LIFE UNDERWRITING 



BY 

Charles Warren Pickell 



'•SOME PLAIN HINTS TO LIFE 
INSURANCE SOLICITORS" 




THE SPECTATOR COMPANY 

Chicago Office 135 William Street 

Insurance Exchange NEW YORK 



1920 



*<■ 



o 



Affectionately dedicated to the indivi- 
dual with sufficient capital in brains to 
read slowly, discuss freely and reason 
conclusively. 






Copyright, 1912, by The Spectator Company, New York. 
Copyright, 1920, by The Spectator Company, New York. 



©CU565683 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Why One Should Engage in the Business 
of Life Underwriting. 



Your eye, please! 

If you haven't the time or the inclina- 
tion to read this little book clear 
through, kindly lay it aside. It was not 
intended for you. 

But, if you "mean business" and are 
willing to read it aloud very slowly, 
making frequent stops for a short but 
free discussion with your listener, go 
ahead. Just take notice, however, that 
it's no encyclopaedia. 

By throwing on the screen a moving 
picture of some conclusions reached 
after twenty-five years' experience in 
the greatest business in the realm, I 
sincerely trust I may be able to qualify 
some of your preconceived opinions, 
and also open up new and enlarged 
visions of great opportunities and 
splendid possibilities therein. 



Take 
Notice. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Short 
Division. 



More than likely I will touch upon 
some phase of the question both old 
and uninteresting, and yet, whether you 
are a veteran or a recruit, I shall hope 
to hold your attention for twenty min- 
utes or so — none too short for me, long 
enough for you! 

By two strokes of the pen let us 
divide our "esteemed fellow citizens" 
into three classes: 

One. — Those who are shiftless, lazy, 
impecunious, out of work, "ne'er-do- 
wells," and not caring who knows it. 

Two. — Those who love to work, are 
thrifty, ambitious to do well, seekers 
after wise counsel and have honest 
intentions. 

Three. — The very rich, self-satisfied, 
society-crazy, with time a drug on their 
hands, no definite purpose beyond seek- 
ing pleasure and cutting coupons. 

Now, if you please, draw a blue pen- 
cil through class "One" — they concern 
us only as we pity them and are be- 
nevolent enough to offer aid. Scratch 
out class "Three" — we are sorry they 
are so rich. It is an awful thing to be 
very wealthy and have nothing to do. 
The writer is pleased to address him- 
self to class "Two." 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Let's subdivide "Two." How's this? 

A. — Those who are employed, con- 
tent with their work or profession, have 
chances of promotion, and who are 
either skilled workmen or specialists in 
their line, whose reputations are estab- 
lished and opportunities for betterment 
constantly opening out before them. 

B. — Those who are engaged in vari- ° n * 

% & . Division. 

ous occupations and professions, pos- 
sessing pronounced ability, but with 
scant opportunity (if any) to advance; 
who are devoting the maximum of time, 
hard work and thought for a minimum 
of recompense; whose hearts are heavy 
with the increasing cost of living and 
the great sacrifice they are constantly 
making, but whose every sense is alert 
for a better chance. 

C. — The young with their future oc- 
cupation yet unselected, influenced by 
relatives and friends, yet wise enough 
to think for themselves before choosing 
a business career. 

Now, blue pencil A, if you please, 
and let those happy people go on to 
better things — would that society had 
thousands more just like them! Let B 
and C stand. Those who come under 



Censor. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Be a 

Philoso- 
pher. 



these two heads constitute the thousands 
to whom the writer is speaking. 

Every thoughtful American likes to 
dig into the reasons for things and for 
doing things. A stupid taking them for 
granted or jumping at conclusions ex- 
cites our contempt. "Oh, just because/' 
may please a silly young girl, but it 
doesn't satisfy us — philosophers. An 
emotion may stir deep feelings, but rea- 
son is not always emotion. To dwell 
upon some past event in delightful recol- 
lections is only memory, not reason ; and 
painting beautiful pictures of fancy, 
building air castles, etc., only imagina- 
tion, not reason. Possibly you could not 
define a reason. Listen ! "J ust ground for 
action — that which is offered or ac- 
cepted as an explanation — the efficient 
cause of an occurrence — a motive for ac- 
tion — proof for an opinion." Old Noah 
Webster says a lot more that's too heavy 
to carry, so we'll drop it. 

The question is a fair one — "Why 
(the reasons) one (man or woman) 
should engage (give time, thought 
and energy) in the business (labor, oc- 
cupation, profession) of life underwrit- 
ing (inducing persons to protect loved 
ones, estates, investments, old age 



PLAIN REASONS. 



against loss, by taking policies in 
reputable companies. )" — A comprehen- a 
sive text — many phases. We are con- Great 
cerned with one only— "WHY"— the Question. 
reasons — reasons within — reasons with- 
out — financial reasons — social reasons. 
Don't get frightened ! This is no long, 
dry-as-dust thesis, worthy a place in the 
waste basket, but a lively, absorbing, 
profitable subject that will unquestion- 
ably be confronted with the sharp eye, 
keen understanding and logical reason- 
ing of you who have read thus far. 

But let us not "Beat about the bush" 
any longer. Those reasons which have 
their premises outside ourselves invite at- 
tention first. And so "We're off!" 
Here's number I. 



To Engage In the Business of Life Under- 
writing Requires No Cash Capital. 

Do you desire to become a dry goods 
merchant, then you need money to pay 
rent, buy goods and employ help ; should 
you decide to manufacture shoes, you 
need collateral or credit to equip your 
plant, purchase material etc. ; has farm- 
ing an attraction, don't forget it takes 
money or its equivalent to secure the 
land, stock, implements, etc. It is an old 



No 

Money 

Needed. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Take 
Inventory 



principle that every business must have 
one of four things for its foundation — 
money, credit, good collateral or an en- 
dorser. But, here we have a new order 
of things — a revolution — an overturning! 
Behold a business, the peer of any — 
far-reaching, transcendent — the glorious 
business of saving homes, supporting 
widows and orphans, safeguarding old 
age against penury, conserving the fruits 
of labor and thought against loss. A 
business representing no single stall in 
some out-of-the-way arcade, but billions 
of dollars — supplements of unfinished 
lives, A business than which none has 
been conducted with greater integrity or 
produced more magnificent results. A 
business requiring no money, no col- 
lateral, no credit and no endorser to en- 
gage in it ! Wonderful ? Yes, but after 
all very simple. With "This line," you 
don't have to buy first in order that you 
may sell. Your merchandise consists of 
a folio of bond paper, beautifully en- 
graved, which "promises to pay" and also 
engages to do other valued things, if the 
purchaser will do certain other things. 
They call it a "policy," but it might just 
as well be called "a contract," "a bond," 
'a trust certificate," or "a promissory 



PLAIN REASONS. 



note." In it are enumerated great 
benefits, and behind it are millions of 
assets to make good every article of 
agreement. 

One doesn't need seven big Saratogas 
to convey this merchandise from place 
to place, nor are changing styles and sea- 
sons leaving him with worthless samples 
on his hands. While it is not so tangible 
as the doctor's bills, the coffin plate or Good 
the open grave, yet when the last sad Assets. 
rites are performed and the administra- 
tor takes an inventory of "What did he 
leave, anyway?" that little sheet of paper 
stands sponsor for the mortgage (death- 
grip), is a foster-father to the orphans, 
lifts the heavy burden from the widow's 
sorrowing heart and preserves inviolate 
the purity and sw T eetness of home. Elo- 
quent ? No stock in trade ever attracted 
human ear or eye one half so much. It 
will sell itself to the thoughtful man who 
has brains enough to understand its 
simple statements and love of dear ones 
sufficiently strong to protect them against 
his untimely death. Whole volumes 
could be written upon the quality, fine- 
ness, character, utility, endurance and 
purpose of this merchandise — but no; 
we haven't the time. 



10 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Actual 
Capital. 



Before you get into the field and actu- 
ally at work you will need a little more 
outside capital — a license, furnished by 
the company — a book of instructions for 
agents, furnished by the company — a 
rate book containing rates, values, tables, 
etc., furnished by the company — circu- 
lars, comparisons, helpful literature of 
various kinds, furnished by the company 
and costing you nothing. No "Cash for 
outfit" scheme here ! A fountain pen and 
a leather wallet, neither absolutely neces- 
sary, might be "furnished by the com- 
pany" also. This is your entire line of 
samples, your shelf goods, your manu- 
factured product, your bank deposit, 
your crop, your whole stock — outside of 
your own personality. 

Now read this list backwards — take an 
inventory — great layout, isn't it? I'm 
not joking. Breathe here and think for 
a minute. In all the realms of business 
or professional life, in the wide range 
of mechanics, engineering, agriculture, 
commerce, manufacturing, law, medi- 
cine, is there anywhere a business so far- 
reaching, with such stupendous possibili- 
ties requiring so small an amount of out- 
side or cash capital? 

Wait a moment; don't conclude in an 



Withhold 

Conclu- 
sion. 



PLAIN REASONS. 11 

impulsive way, that because you have no 
money you should engage in this great 
business. Perhaps — just "perhaps" — 
there might be one reason — or two — why 
you should never think of it — wait until 
we are through. 

However, if you have no money, no 
credit, no collateral, no endorser, be not 
dismayed, for none is necessary to the 
successful engaging in this magnificent 
enterprise. 



12 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Time 

Makes 

Demands. 



Because One is Not Bound Irrevocably to 

a Ten-Hour Schedule for 313 Days 

In Every Year. 

It is a sad fact that there are many 
men and women under such obligations 
to time that they have given up all hope 
of emancipation. As though he were a 
slave to his factory whistle, the artisan 
awakes at 5 a. m., bolts his breakfast 
and rushes to work to keep from being 
docked. The school bell is so unyield- 
ing in its bondage that the faithful 
teacher listens for its summons on Sun- 
days and holidays. The nervous physi- 
cian pays tribute to his Nemesis, the 
telephone, when at midnight he imagines 
he hears it ring, only to have central 
say "Number, please ?" The Great Ma- 
jority of working men and women are 
expected to be at their posts day in and 
out to feed the hungry maw of an 
eight or ten-hour schedule, which is so 
insatiable that forty per cent dividends 
on one side and unsanitary conditions, 
hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, small wages, 



PLAIN REASONS. 



13 



on the other, do not answer its im- 
perative greed for gold. Heroes these 
millions ! How richly their fidelity 
should be rewarded! Sometimes it is, 
but then again — but that is another 
story. If the writer could have his 
way, he would order better pay, shorter 
hours and give to each one the right to 
own in fee certain hours of each day to 
use as he wished for his own happiness. 

But how is it with our underwriter? 

Very different, sir, very different! 
He bosses his hours — comes and goes 
by no schedule, is not docked if late or 
fined if sick. No automatic device 
makes a record when he is off duty — a 
few days' vacation are not refused be- 
cause "We are so busy" — no whistle or 
bell demands its hostage, or telephone 
disturbs his slumbers by its insistent toll 
of time. If he wishes he can spend 
fifteen minutes at the Serve Self or two 
hours at home with his family — optional. 
He doesn't have to ask for permission to 
leave town, go fishing, attend the ball 
game, act as bearer at a funeral, or care 
for a sick child. "Seven to twelve, 
one hour for lunch, one to six" sched- 
ule does not "Ball and chain" him to 
his job. Opportunities are his hours. 



Ill 

Gotten 

Riches. 



Bosses 
Himself. 



Ball 
and 
Chain. 



14 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Time 
by the 
Forelock. 



He marshals days and months into bat- 
talions. The seasons are his servants 
also. With increasing skill, he makes 
appointments at his convenience and 
gradually gains a more perfect control 
of his time. Routine is inexcusable. If 
he suffers from monotony — his fault. 
There are certain times when he works 
best. Here they are : an opportune time, 
an appropriate time, a suitable time, a 
convenient time, a momentous time, a 
good time, just the right time, etc., as 
his keen perception orders. 

(( Time is money" with him also, but 
not so much time and so little money 
that he develops nervous prostration. 
Because he chooses his work hours he 
also arranges a schedule of his rest 
hours, his reading hours, his recreation 
hours, his family hours, his vacation 
hours, etc. Being eminent commander 
of his time, he has a moment, an hour, 
a day ready for instant use. At the 
supreme moment wherever he is— at 
home with friends — on the train — at 
lunch — on the links — in the office — on 
the farm — in the shop — on the street 
car or boat — he uses a moment, develops 
a prospect, follows it up with a fifteen- 
minute interview, longer if necessary, 



A 

New 

Measure. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



15 



and gets his application. He measures 
his working hours by things said, point- 
ers secured, friendships cemented. In 
his busy, alert brain is an electrically 
constructed clock so delicately adjusted 
that the slightest hint sets it going to 
measure off the minutes, hours, days or 
months spent in developing that hint 
into a $50,000 application. 

His time of work is frequently best 
employed while perfectly relaxed dur- 
ing his vacation. This is no paradox. 
There is least resistance then, and the 
subject of insurance comes up naturally 
without being forced. Unconsciously 
the suggestion becomes the key to the 
situation which at another time leads on 
to victory. Unconscious labor produces- 
no weariness. 

There is no embargo upon his free- 
dom or 200 pounds pressure on his en- 
ergy, so he does not hurry to work, at 
work, to meals, at meals, to bed, to 
hurry up and at it again. 

Whether he spends four hours with 
the man who comes hard or ten min- 
utes with an easy one, is his business. 
His watch doesn't stop when he insures 
a man. He loses some time, but what 
he loses in actual soliciting he uses in 



Vacation 
Chances. 



No 

Stop- 
watch 
Needed. 



16 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Full 
Control. 



some other advantageous way. At first 
his lost time appals him, but greater 
skill in determining real prospects and 
when to see them soon turns ninety per 
cent of the waste into salvage. 

Our underwriter is able to attenuate 
and intensify his time of work or expand 
and lessen his efforts as occasion re- 
quires. Understand me, please. I am 
not arguing how he should use his time 
or how much of his time he should 
use, but I desire you to clearly under- 
stand that a successful solicitor is the 
arbiter of his waking hours, with none 
to countermand his orders. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



17 



Because in Life Underwriting the Solici- 
tor's Number of Customers is Practi- 
cally Unlimited. 

Whatever merchandise a salesman has 
to sell he must have customers to buy. 
With some special line the number of 
customers is reduced to a minimum. 
General dealers with other lines have no 
attractions for such a salesman. Every- 
one knows that the more limited the 
number of customers, the larger the ter- 
ritory the poor drummer has to cover 
and the harder it is to sell his goods. 

How would it seem in a city with a 
population of 100,000 to call on fifteen 
hardware dealers and sell only two? 
What use would the salesman have for 
the 99,985 other persons living in that 
town? On the other hand, suppose 
there were a hundred hardware stores 
in the town. Would the drummer's 
chances of making a sale increase? 
They surely would if there were the 
same number of drummers. And then 
suppose instead of a hundred possible 



The 
Poor 
Drummer 



Worthless 
Material. 



18 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Thou- 
sands of 
Buyers. 



customers there were sixty thousand 
in the same town. Would it not make 
possible a large and productive field for 
the salesmen? 

Well, now, that is exactly what the life 
insurance solicitor has before him. In 
every city of 100,000 population there are 
approximately 60,000 possible purchasers. 
This eliminates babies, invalids, men 
and women in hazardous employment, the 
aged, infirm, and those who have no in- 
surable interest in their lives. In every 
community every eligible man and woman 
is a possible customer, and the chil- 
dren can also be educated to buy when 
they reach the proper age. New ar- 
rivals in town increase the "Possibles," 
and new demands, new relations, new 
conditions, make steady customers — pur- 
chasing again and again. When the 
father buys, his sons and daughters 
are influenced to purchase where he 
did: the banker recommends the com- 
pany of his choice: when the widow 
receives the $10,000 her late husband 
carried, herself and children advertise 
the company that "Gave mamma so 
much money when papa died." So 
in ever-widening circles our life un- 
derwriter's territory increases and his 



The 
Limit. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



19 



customers multiply. There is no limit. 
He, himself, is the "Limit." When- 
ever he goes he finds a dealer who 
handles his line of goods. All men and 
women who live, who expect to get old, 
who expect to die, who have any 
property, anyone dependent on them, 
any business interest held sacred, and 
who should protect, protect, PRO- 
TECT everything they have or expect 
to have, everything they are or expect 
to be, are possible purchasers of his 
"wares/' 

What a joy to the life underwriter 
to find that the strange gentleman who 
starts the conversation on a street car 
by observing, "Nice morning/' only to Great 
follow it up a few minutes later by ask- J °y- 
ing, "How's business?" and "Let's see, 
what is your business?" to hear him 
volunteer a few minutes later, "I am 
going to carry a little more myself some 
day soon"! I say, what a joy to read 
the sign displayed by his face and 
words, "B. A. Man — dealer in protec- 
tion!" 

Someone, more curious than wise, Keep 
once said to the writer, "I should think Smiling, 
you would get them all insured after a 
while and have to go out of business." 



20 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Wouldn't you smile ? — No, indeed ! In- 
creased wealth will demand increased 
protection ; so with increased population. 
Millions of young men and women are 
constantly reaching the insurable age, 
millions of older ones are increasing their 
lines or changing what they have to more 
desirable forms of policies. Millions 
more are becoming attracted to larger in- 
Freaks. demnity by putting a more rational and 
commensurate premium upon their own 
worth. In twenty years $20,000 poli- 
cies will be as common as $5,000 policies 
are now, and the man who does not 
carry any insurance should be put in a 
cage, placed in the zoo, and labeled a 
"Freak," "The Wild Man of Borneo," 
or some other equally attractive title. 

Of course, there is a vast difference in 
soils when it comes to crops. To raise 
a fine crop of customers requires a good 
field, properly worked, with thorough cul- 
tivation and a gathering at the right time. 
This idea may be new to you — give it 
four minutes of silent thought. Even 
a poor field, properly worked, with good 
seed, will yield an average crop; but a 
poor field, poorly worked, with poor 
seed, results in barrenness. In an in- 
telligent community, where thrift and 



PLAIN REASONS. 21 

wealth abound, the skilled solicitor finds 
no limit to the productiveness of his 
territory. It depends largely upon him 
whether it yields twenty, fifty or a hun- 
dred-fold, so it depends upon him whether 
every man he meets has felt the whole- 
some influence of several he has already 
insured and is in line to buy some of 
the goods himself. A field which yields 
a hundred customers the first year Produo 
should yield a hundred and fifty the JJj^ 
second, two hundred and fifty the third, 
and so on until his company, and even 
he himself, become household words 
throughout his entire territory. 



Fields. 



22 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Because There is No Fixed Limit to His 
Income. 

Short hours — small pay? Not neces- 
sarily. The harder the work, the 
larger pay? Not surely. But, he is 
not working on a salary, in which event 
the harder he works, the same he 
makes, and the less he works the sooner 
he loses his job. 
Large A salary does not measure a man's 

Enough worth, although the most common stand- 
Salary. arc j # One man may be worth twice the 
salary he is receiving; but, if he is bold 
enough to ask for it, he will usually be 
informed that a cheaper man is "just 
waiting'' to take his place. Or, if con- 
scious that he is working too hard for 
the money he is getting and attempts to 
"ease off" a little, his pay envelope will 
be leaner next Saturday night. He may 
wonder, then get mad, then rebel and 
resign; but he finds it terribly hard to 
get another job as good. 

Perhaps in all the range of economics 
salaried jobs have the largest number 



PLAIN REASONS. 



23 



of misfits. Seldom can a salaried man 
be found who doesn't "tag" his serv- 
ices at a higher price than he is getting. 
Whether his judgment is sound and his 
estimate correct or not, his opinion is 
usually formulated upon one of three 
things : 

i. His ambition. Does it "lure to Brighter 
brighter worlds and lead the way" ? Worlds. 

2. Has he natural or acquired powers, 
of which he is conscious without being 
conceited ? 

3. Do his personal and family needs 
call for more to satisfy cultivated tastes, 
twentieth-century mode of living, etc.? 

There is a mighty host of restless 
bread-winners undervalued, and, conse- 
quently, underpaid. Thousands of these 
have small chances of saving anything 
against a so-called "rainy day." A com- 
mission basis is, without doubt, a far 
more equitable way to adjust the wage 
to the work — but that's another story. 

In life underwriting every solicitor's 
value can be accurately measured by the 
new business he receives full premiums 
for. The stimulus to work grows with 
increasing commissions, so that when Real 
business is good, the days seem too short Worth. 
and the engagements too few. And 



24 



PLAIN REASONS. 



$400 a 
Month. 



when business slackens, by better work 
and harder work he can keep up his 
record. He makes $100 a week, and 
the possibilities of the business dawn 
gloriously upon him. Influences multi- 
ply, opportunities increase, friends are 
loyal, educational processes are at work, 
and soon he becomes the center of a 
magnificent business, with customers 
waiting for him a la the popular barber 
shop. At the end of a month he 
finds he has made $300, with a good 
prospect for $400 the next. He full 
well realizes that his income is not fixed, 
but differentiates with his moods and 
tenses, his activities and vacations, good 
times and bad, friends and enemies, 
conditions, environment, etc. One year 
he cleans up $6000 and the next only 
$5000, but he still has his courage, and is 
happy in the consciousness of his 
strength and faith in himself, so that 
next year he is morally certain to make 
$8000. No one fixes his income but 
himself. As he is the autocrat of his 
time and the arbiter of his customers, 
so he exercises a limited monarchy over 
his income, in which a normal ambition 
stimulates a healthy growth. No more 
will he sell two-dollar time for one 



Controls 
Income. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



25 



$50,000 

per 

Year. 



dollar. No longer will he permit some 
sinecure to place discounted values upon 
his ability and raise or lower his pay. 
If he puts a fictitious value upon his 
own services he will not be long in 
making the discovery. 

Solicitors' incomes graduate from 
$500 to $50,000 per annum — a wide 
enough range for each underwriter to 
find his location and a high enough limit 
to inspire him to do his best. If his in- 
come falls oflf, he is to blame; if it in- 
creases, he is to blame; he cannot hold 
responsible any trade union, any merger 
of capital, any cry of hard times, any 
wave of reform, any schedule either of 
hours or wages, any act of company or 
legislature, because the business is so 
peculiar, so elastic, so pervasive, so uni- 
versal, that, given eligible men and 
women plus money in circulation or in 
banks and plus intelligent work, he gets 
success, and "Success" is only another 
word for income. In this business merit 
receives its reward. Here ability takes the 
prize. Here industry is requited. Here 
genius blazes with transcendent light. 
Here ten talents make ten more. No em- 
bargo, no confining, no restricting, no 
handicapping, no limiting his capacity 



Men 
plus 
Money. 



26 



PLAIN REASONS. 



for earning — from the outside or from 
outside influences. The world is big. 
Opportunities have no fixed geographical 
location. His eyes are open to main 
chances; but, if he fails to see one, he 
starts his capital in brains and his 
dynamic energy grinding out a few. 
So, in a great measure, he has wrapped 
up in himself the materials which he, 
the alchemist, converts into yellow gold. 



Brains- 
Energy- 
Gold. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



27 



Because of the Character of the Business. 

Life underwriting is a very peculiar 
business. It touches all phases of 
life in one way or another, equaliz- 
ing, leveling and developing human 
affairs as possible for no other business 
to do. Through its influence habits of 
thrift and economy grow up where even 
savings banks were not able to take 
root. In fact, life insurance is but an- 
other form of savings banks, in which 
trust funds are securely held against a 
day of need, with the added stimulus of 
a loss of protection if payments are not 
continued. Anyone may well be proud 
to be engaged in so commendable an en- 
terprise as helping and encouraging 
other people to save money. 

Then, again, life insurance is an in- 
demnity against what is not likely to 
happen to life, health, estate or old age 
and what human ingenuity strives and 
devises against; but if it should hap- 
pen — "//," then the insurance policy is 
the safeguard, the shield, the anchor, 



Start a 
Bank. 



Cast the 
Anchor. 



28 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Safe 

From 

Trouble. 



the bulwark of defense. Any thought- 
ful man, who loves his fellow men and 
is desirous of rendering them a valued 
service, would consider it an honor to 
be dealing in such indemnity. In a 
broader sense, life insurance keeps 
families together, leaving unsevered the 
home ties when the father is taken. 
How sublimely beautiful is the sight of 
a stricken family kept safe from want 
and worry by such a means! What a 
comfort to the mother to know that 
her little ones can be educated and kept 
pure from the taint of sin because some 
representative life underwriter sold her 
late husband a $25,000 policy! 

Let your mind dwell for a moment 
upon the estates life insurance saves from 
disintegration, the old age it cheers and 
provides for, the almshouses it keeps 
empty, the institutions it endows, the 
citizenship it makes possible; it is both 
economic and philanthropic, educational 
and reformatory, palliative and cor- 
in rective, fiduciary and perpetuating, corn- 

Webster, plementary and supplementary. Each 
of these big words will need four min- 
utes' thought. If you have read thus 
far, you surely have the time. 

You are not blind; you need only to 



PLAIN REASONS. 29 

look about you to see how life under- Open 
writing reaches all the avenues of trade, Vour 
how like a thread of gold it runs through Eyes# 
the fabric of society, how its magical 
touch quickens the public conscience, how 
its purifying leaven permeates the dark, 
foul corners of the earth to cleanse and 
uplift, and what a debt even religion 
owes to its ministration. A great preacher 
has said that the business of life under- 
writing is next in importance to the 
ministry. Surely a business which has 
passed through panics, investigations and 
wars, unpolluted, glorying in its strength 
and integrity, finds nothing else in 
all the empire of business to compare 
with it. Hard times or good times affect 
it not. Seasons, climatic conditions, 
commerce, crops, affect it not. Philoso- Vaccin- 
phy, science, politics, reciprocity, inter- 
national relations, financial enterprises 
affect it not. 

Where can you find a business so 
substantial, so immovable, so unaf- 
fected, so enduring, so far-reaching? 
It has no peer in these respects. 
The reason for all this lies in the unit 
used to make our estimate. In life 
underwriting, as expressed before, the 
unit is the individual who should have 



ated. 



30 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Dead- 
No 
Pockets. 



some insurance, more insurance, or 
change some gwcm-insurance for the 
real thing. He can always be found. 
See? Besides, he has to die, whatever 
conditions obtain, and, dying, he has to 
leave whatever he has, as his shroud 
contains no pockets. His relation to the 
business is, therefore, such that, what- 
ever he has to protect, the need of pro- 
tection is not destroyed by external con- 
ditions or relations. You can readily 
see that the wide-awake solicitor need not 
put up the cry of hard times, financial 
stringency, political excitement, cold 
winter, hot summer, or any other ex- 
cuse for not doing business. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



31 



Because of the High Regard the Public 
Has Developed for the Business. 

I say developed advisedly, because 
those of us who are older remember 
how biased public opinion used to be. 
Its stamp of approval has been a growth. 
When life insurance was first launched 
in this country, throughout commercial, 
social and even religious circles, it found 
pronounced and bitter opposition, being 
looked upon by business men as a gam- 
bling proposition and by religious en- 
thusiasts as an unwarrantable traffic in 
flesh and blood. The growth of the 
business was very slow, this prejudice 
very hard to overcome, and the poor 
agent was more of a missionary than 
anything else, for the securing of an 
application in those days meant the 
hardest kind of work. Bias and bigotry 
are the worst enemies of reason, and 
often are never entirely subdued. 

Much valuable time was lost by the 
early soliciter while he was preaching the 
gospel of life insurance to the unbeliev- 



Great 
Change. 



Converts 
Few. 



32 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Paved 

the 

Way. 



ing. Converts were few, and not many 
of them stuck. In order to secure ap- 
plications the solicitor was compelled, not 
only to convince his prospect that life 
insurance was a desirable thing, but also 
to establish his company's claims to pat- 
ronage and overcome the universal in- 
clination to procrastination. These sturdy 
pioneers in the life insurance business 
had to work for their small commis- 
sions, but the work they did has been a 
rich heritage to those of us who came 
later. Let us revere their memory. 

Behold a change! To-day life insur- 
ance is looked upon as a commodity. 
No business has ever been conducted 
with greater honesty or had fewer men 
go wrong in it. It has been placed by 
public opinion upon the loftiest pedestal, 
where its light shines unobstructed 
throughout the entire world. Thou- 
sands of widows and orphans worship 
at its feet. A business or professional 
man who does not to-day appreciate the 
great need of protection such as is fur- 
nished by a reputable, old-line company 
is scarce. Questions occupying the indi- 
vidual mind are : First, how much shall 
I take? and, second, where shall I place 
it ? The value and need of it are granted. 



Statue 

of 

Liberty. 



Old 
Enough. 



PLAIN REASONS. 33 



During a period of three-quarters of 
a century this great business has been 
purified as by fire. It has reached an age 
when, through experience and observa- 
tion, it is able to furnish protection at the 
lowest possible cost consistent with a 
definite promise to pay. In no business 
or profession or occupation can you find 
a set of men of greater intelligence, 
higher moral character or better busi- 
ness ability than those engaged in life 
underwriting. These men are proud to 
be identified in any capacity with such 
an enterprise, proud to have the un- 
qualified support of the public press, 
proud that schools and colleges are 
adopting chairs of insurance that the 
young men and women may be educated 
in the principles and operations of the 
business, proud that the Church is the 
bold champion of legitimate legal re- 
serve protection, and, more than all, 
proud that the rising generation, the 
beneficiaries of millions of dollars 
through this channel, pay to them their 
highest tribute of praise. 

The life underwriter — solicitor — is 
abroad in the land. He has reason to 
hold his head high. He can look every 
man squarely in the face and know 



Hold 
Head 
Up. 



34 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Sneers 
Don't 
Count. 



that every time he sells a policy he dis- 
penses good cheer. Oh, yes, there are 
still left- a few fanatics and now and 
then a fool with whom no one can rea- 
son, who sneers at life insurance and its 
beneficence until his sneers call forth 
the protests of his wife and children. 
The time will never come in the his- 
tory of any business or profession when 
narrow-mindedness, fanaticism, bigotry, 
ignorance, foolishness and conceit will 
not obtain to a greater or less degree; 
but, in this business, as time goes on 
and the leavening influence of pure life 
insurance quickens the whole lump of 
humanity into a feeling of appreciation 
of its sublime work and the importance 
of safeguarding interests that are sacred, 
these hindrances will be more and more 
easily overcome and gradually disappear. 
To-day the public conscience indicts any 
man who willfully neglects to indemnify 
everything he owns or is beyond perad- 
venture. The day may come when the 
Federal or State government, or both, 
may order every man to insure his life, 
to prevent those dependent upon him 
becoming public wards at his death, and 
also to keep him out of the poor house 
in old age. 



Like 
Yeast. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



35 



The Solicitor Himself. 

But how about one's own person- 
ality, his individuality? Does this busi- 
ness stimulate growth, or is it dwarfing? 
Does it provide a larger field of oppor- 
tunity with an ever-widening vision or 
force one into contracted quarters, where. 
his soul is compelled to "revel in a peck 
measure"? Does it call for pronounced 
ability, for the use of latent talents, ior 
the kindling of the fire of genius and 
for the application of temperamental 
qualities? Will it soften stubborn wills 
and strengthen weak ones? Is there 
reason to expect intellectual exercise 
until the many faculties of the mind 
are developed? And the sensibilities — 
the affections — in this atmosphere, will 
they bud and bloom or shrivel and 
die? Engaging in this business is one 
barred from financial, social and fra- 
ternal association until he feels himself 
an Ishmaelite, or is he received into the 
inner circles, made the confidant of men 



Peck 
Measure 



Look 
Inside. 



36 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Count 
Heart 
Beats. 



mighty in thought and achievement and 
wealth, and honored by his fellow citi- 
zens with positions of trust and great 
responsibility ? 

These questions are very important to 
one about to choose an occupation, and 
they are well worthy of a more exhaus- 
tive analysis than all other questions or 
considerations affecting his life. Re- 
member, please : 

One must reckon with his own con- 
science. 

One should have a praiseworthy am- 
bition. 

One should find joy in achieving great 
things. 

One should love to do good to his 
fellow men. 

With these before us we can truth- 
fully say there is no room in this great 
business for mean, unscrupulous, tricky 
individuals, whose chief business is to 
hoodwink customers while they sell 
them gold bricks. A few such men 
living by their wits alone (they have 
no moral character) are abroad in the 
land, either out on parole or not caught 
yet; but, thank God, only a few ever 
entered the life insurance business, and 



Gold 
Bricks. 



PLAIN REASONS. 37 

•to 

those who did were kicked out of it long 
ago. If some still remain there is -no Every 
room for them. Neither i> there room Room 
in this great business for the man with Taken. 
five senses but none of them in use, with 
brains partially braised (look up the 
word), or the man whose vocabulary- 
consists of a hundred words, which mean 
the same whichever way. they are used 
and many of them threadbare. The in- 
tellectual faculties of the life under- 
writer are put. to severest tests. The 
business itself transcends all others in 
its demands for real ability. 

I have used the words "real ability" 
advisedly, and it is my purpose now to 
elaborate this idea in a limited way, of 
course. Dear reader, you know what I 
mean by able men or men possessing real 
ability, for they are not found in one 
profession or business, but scattered 
throughout the land, attracting attention Big 
everywhere, being head and shoulders Men. 
above their fellows, as King Saul was 
of old. Whatever their calling in life, 
they do it well, and believe in a square 
deal. They are learners in the school 
of life, and are never too wise. The 
use of the talents God has given them 
keeps such talents bright. Real ability 



38 



PLAIN REASONS. 



One- 
sided 
Men Not 
Wanted. 



Real 
Ability. 



Even 
Growth. 



does not consist entirely of intellectual 
development, for that would make a 
man one-sided, nor does it consist in 
the highest exercise of the will in per- 
forming duties, even though the will 
is one's very self and gives a person 
the ability to determine for himself; 
nor does it rest altogether in the sensi- 
bilities, the affections of the heart — 
those finer qualities of human nature 
that beautify and uplift a man. No. 
Real ability consists in the unifying of all 
those elements that go to make up per- 
sonality. In this business the brainy 
man, attracting attention because of his 
great intellect; the wilful man, unbend- 
ing as a rod of steel, and the sickly- 
sentimental man, whose life consists in 
simply following his emotions, cannot 
succeed. There must be uniformity of 
growth and well-related development in 
order to exemplify the idea of real abil- 
ity. Don't get scared — this isn't a 
treatise on philosophy. The writer is 
not lost — just soaring a little. Come 
down to earth, now, and let's con- 
sider a few of the mental qualities im- 
proved and developed by engaging in 
the business of life underwriting, For 
example, take 



PLAIN REASONS. 



39 



Bun- 
combe. 



Memory. 

Perhaps you have been all your life 
complaining of your memory— it is so 
faulty, so unreliable, so treacherous. 
When a mere lad in school your teacher 
endeavored to train it by one device and 
another, but at its very best you found 
it deficient. Once you paid $1.50 for 
Professor Buncombe's ten lessons "Hew 
Never to Forget," guaranteed to give 
you a memory that would never fail — 
so you could memorize a book at one 
reading — so you could instantly remem- 
ber speeches, lectures, plays, music — so 
you could learn foreign languages 
quickly and remember them perma- 
nently; and you awoke, after the first 
lesson, to realize that "A fool and his 
money are soon parted." Everyone 
knows there is no mental faculty more 
useful or more delightful than the 
power to recall or recollect or recog- 
nize — all of which are functions of 
memory. To have at hand events, dates, 
names, figures, results, comparisons, is 
a very valuable asset, even though they 
may be arranged by a card index; but 
how much more valuable is the ability 
to recall them exactly and when needed ! 
Emerson beautifully says, "Memory is 



More 
Than a 
Pocket. 



40 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Forget 

Mean 

Things, 



not a pocket, but a living instructor, 
with a prophetic sense of the values 
which he guards — a guardian angel set 
there within you to record your life, 
and, by recording, to animate you to 
uplift it." One finds little difficulty in 
remembering the pleasant things that 
enter his life or those that appeal to his 
selfishness out of which he makes his 
living, from which he puts aside his 
savings or his profits; and it is because 
of this very principle that life under- 
writing demands a tremendous exer- 
cise of memory. 

The successful underwriter must re- 
member. If he forgets, he loses; he 
must not forget. There are faces, 
dates, relations in business, circum- 
stances, things said, rates, ages, forms 
of contracts and features therein, data 
about all companies, methods of work, 
and so on ad libitum, that must not be 
forgotten. Thoreau said: "Of what 
significance are the things you can for- 
get? A little thought is sexton to all 
the world." So well trained must his 
memory become that he can readily 
assist his prospect to recall something 
of great value to him in a business way, 
thus putting him under obligations and 



A 

Good 
Janitor. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



41 



Recharge 

the 

Battery. 



making it easy to insure him. If he 
had a poor memory when he entered 
the business, constant exercise of it 
forces him to correct bad habits of long 
standing and to charge this splendid 
faculty with dynamic power, so that he 
has at his .tongue's end every detail 
necessary to get applications without 
carrying around with him a gripful of 
books, pamphlets, comparisons and other 
aids. His memory is as capable of de- 
velopment through its natural exercises 
as the muscles of his body through 
gymnastics appropriate to them. For 
him to greet a prospect with such 
statements as follow, spells failure: 
"Let's see, I just forget where I met 
you. Oh, yes, thank you!" "I cannot 
recall what our policy says about loans, 
but I will look it up for you." "I for- 
get what I said to you, Mr. B , the 

last time I was here. Did I send you 
a specimen policy?" Oh, oh, oh! Do 
you wonder such a man would fail? 
"I forgot" will not succeed. "I for- 
got" will be the weakest link in the 
chain that binds you to your success. 
"I don't remember" is no apology for 
failure. The Persian says: "A real 
singer will never forget the song he has 



Failure 

Made 

Easy. 



The 

Weakest 
Link. 



42 



PLAIN REASONS. 



once learned." A wandering mind can 
b$ cured. The mental discipline you 
need to develop your memory will come 
if you exercise it in this great business 
as you ought to; and I may truthfully 
say that there is no other occupatioif m 
the whole wide world which will sharpen 
your memory more keenly, develop it 
more largely and make it a better ser- 
vant more quickly than the business of 
life underwriting. By the process of 
association the writer soon leafns to 
put names to faces, dates and events 
together, and soon Has his memory 
stored with a large and valuable supply 
of material, to be ground out by per- 
sistent work into applications — commis- 
sions — success. 
Great The great underwriters known through- 

ThinkersJ out the insurance world have been men 
of deep thought — "As deep as the 
thought, so great is the attraction." 
If you want a good memory, think 
hard, think deep, think long; the cause 
of most poor memories is shallow 
thought. You must be a hard task 
master and compel your memory to 
actually possess what you do not want 
tQ forget. Health, good company, train- 
ing by repetition, trusting the memory 



PLAIN REASONS. 



43 



rather than pencil memoranda, repeated 
tests by reviews of a day's, a week's or 
a month's work in detail, and a hun- 
dred other suitable exercises, will give 
the mind of the life underwriter such 
a grasp that it does not let go. "Tis 
the bulldog bite; you must cut off the 
head to loosen the teeth." 



Like a 

Bulldog. 



44 PLAIN REASONS, 



Look at Reason. 

Reason is the coronet of the intellect 
— the glory of the body. Allied with the 
will it distinguishes man from brute. 
Highly developed it sets one above his 
fellows, the adniired and praised by all. 
Failure to reason well evinces a weak 
mentality, whatever other 'qualities are 
possessed. The inability to reason brings 
one to the home for the feeble-minded, 
where thousands more might well be 
confined. This function of the mind, 
\ like all others, grows stronger, keener, 

King's brighter, profounder by proper exercise, 
Crown. an( j by contact with better and greater 
thinkers develops skill. Thoughtful men 
love to lay their hostages at the feet of 
reason, for there they gQt satisfaction 
— there they determine the efficient or 
final cause. 

The faculty of reason is one of the 
slowest to develop, but is not confined 
or restricted. There is no limit beyond 
which it cannot go — no boundary line 
which says, "Thus far, but no farther" 



PLAIN REASONS. 



45 



It is interesting to study the relation of A Wise 
the will to reason and how often there Man. 
is harmony of argument and action. A 
wise man will when his judgment says 
"Go ahead, for it stands to reason 1 ' — 
a fool will not because his will and rea- 
son are at odds — "Oh, yes, I admit it, 
but I won't: 9 

Well, now, life insurance is a direct 
and forceful appeal to reason — it is 
based on reason, it commends itself to 
reason. Here is the syllogism: major 
premise, "Death is certain;" minor pre- Good 
mise, "It is wise to provide for death;" Logic, 
conclusion, "Therefore, I will insure" 
Sensible? Yes, indeed! Many wise men 
act because they reason in exactly this 
way, but there are many more who, for 
various excuses and alleged reasons, will 
not insure now, or in your company, if 
at all. The solicitor must overcome 
these many objections pleasantly, force- 
fully, conclusively, and it becomes a 
question of how well, how unanswer- 
ably, how convincingly he can reason. 

No two excuses are made with the 
same mental reservation, with the same 
force or for the same purpose. Some 
operate in harmony with a convinced 
reason — some do not. A superficial 



46 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Rich 
Cream. 



reason will convince one man — a more 
profound one is required for another. 
When the solicitor can get the ear of a 
thinking and reasonable man, it is up to 
him: 

1. To determine what his objection is 
— why not insure^ why not in his com- 
pany, why not now? 

2. To show him the fallacy of his 
reasoning* and the foolishness of his 
position. 

3. To lead him to see the correct view 
by a clear and winsome presentation of 
the whole matter. 

This is the cream of the solicitor s 
work — the part in which he should find 
supremest joy. It means victory or de- 
feat. No business calls for quicker 
action, keener thought or greater versa- 
tility in reasoning. The fool who cannot 
see, the blunderer who cannot under- 
stand until it is too late, better tackle an- 
other job f Tlifs is the field for the pro- 
gressive, the ambitious, the man with 
"His wagon hitched to a star" — in 
this soil narrowmindedness withers and 
dies — here causes are sown and effects 
harvested— here the ability to argue, to 
refute, to analyze, to construct, to lead, 
to confound, grows in rich profusion. 



Profuse 
Growth. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



47 



All the argument is on the agent's side ; Good 
the knocker, the pessimist, the objec- Fencing 
tor, hasn't a single vantage point. A 
skillful solicitor by thrust and parry and 
turn will have no trouble to touch an 
exposed vulnerable point and soon place 
his opponent liors de combat. 

Hear this : "I have lots of money and 
do not need insurance" Startle the 
agent? Guess not! An even dozen 
reasons why he should have insurance 
spring spontaneously to his fertile mind 
and in twenty words he has proved 
more than a match for Mr. Gotrox. 

Mr, Henpeck hesitates about insuring Easy 
because the "Missus" objects. But, after Picking, 
a few minutes'-private conversation with 
our reasoning representative he insures 
on the ground that he would prefer a 
"Caudle" lecture afterwards, to the 
sharp, penetrating shaft of convincing 
argument, which made him feel like a 
silly fool just then. 

"No money in it for me" says Mr. 
Skinflint. He's easy! — but too close- 
fisted to spend a dollar until he has to; 
yet our efficient agent soon ties him up 
in a double bow knot, shows him his 
photograph after death, and he has to 
admit something he loathes or sign up. 



48 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Ten thousand times ten thousand other 
people with new conditions, old theories, 
foolish objections, silly excuses, family 
entanglements, business connections, re- 
ligious scruples, etc., etc., no two exactly 
alike, but each calling for a peculiar ex- 
ercise of this function, have to be met. 
Do you not see that the greatest of all 
mental faculties attains to most perfect 
development in this great business? 

An experience of twenty-five years 
leads me to conclude that more new 
business is secured among the large in- 
surers by use of this mental faculty 
than any other single quality a solicitor 
may possess. For this reason each one 
should do his best to reach that class of 
men whose intelligence and experience 
afford him the largest exercise and de- 
velopment along rational lines. "Cotne, 
let us reason together/' saitli the Lord, 
in Isaiah. What a crown to place upon 
the brow of the mind's most transcend- 
ent function! What a shibboleth for 
every aggressive solicitor to adopt I 



Next to 
Big Men. 



Shibbo- 
leth. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



49 



The Imagination. 

Imagination is the picture gallery of 
the mind. It is also the poet's corner. 
Here dwells that strange power pos- 
sessed by poets and artists — and first- 
class life underwriters. Here is de- 
veloped the creative power by which 
conceptions are modified and arranged 
into splendid air castles, weird and un- 
usual pictures, strange and fanciful in- 
ventions. This is the image-forming 
faculty. In this great factory, without 
wheel or belt or pulley, strange things 
are constructed out of nothing; pictures 
are painted on canvas which does not 
exist, and beautiful epics and lyrics are 
sung by voices which cannot be heard. 

Not all poets and artists who revel 
in the joys of imagination are life un- 
derwriters, but all life underwriters who 
have achieved any degree of success are 
both poets and artists. Wait a minute! 
A poet sings of heroes, of brave deeds, 
of sunshine, of flowers, of peace, of joy, 
of hope, of faith, of love — so does the 



A 

Paying 
Factory. 



Singers 

and 

Painters. 



J 



50 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Paintings 
in Oil. 



life underwriter. The artist paints 
pictures of mother, children, the ingle- 
nook, of youth, of old age, home — aye, 
and a thousand more — pictures we ad- 
mire and love to study; so does the 
life underwriter. Our poet-artist 
weaves together the warp and woof of 
many strange experiences which have 
come under his observation into beauti- 
ful Gobelin tapestry. Hear him describe 
a home free from debt, an income suffi- 
cient to keep the family together and 
educate the children, the burden of care 
lifted from the mother's heart, the sting 
removed from sorrow when the bread- 
winner has been suddenly removed by 
death. Or, when necessary, he can paint 
a picture of the house left desolate, the 
children scattered, hearts sore and the 
widow at work. To his skilful brush 
many pictures are easy. When oppor- 
tune, he can fill in the outline of a 
sketch, add a few touches to soften the 
background and by brightening the color 
he wishes to stand out in relief, give the 
picture a tonal quality of a Corot or the 
naturalness of a Rembrandt. 

There is perhaps tio gift the Creator 
made to man more thoroughly enjoyed 
than the imagination; nor is there a 



PLAIN REASONS. 



51 



Mirages. 



business where this function of the 
mind is more needed or more used than 
in a business of persuading men to pro- 
tect their dear ones. The skilled user 
of this faculty should be able to paint 
pictures either beautiful or ugly — either 
comforting or annoying— either persuad- 
ing or dissuading. 

Human life is a longing — a planning. 
We anticipate with joy or fear. Perils 
may loom up big before us or imaginary 
success cause our pulses to quicken. We 
see visions of green fields or arid plains. 

Hope and imagination are first 
cousins, and ate busy all the time oper- 
ating on the will. The solicitor works 
legitimately upon ills that might come, 
upon joys that should come, upon busi- 
ness growth that ought to obtain, upon 
a dependent old age to be dreaded, upon 
a possible death while the children are 
small, upon a worthless administrator to 
scatter his estate, upon the benefit of 
ready money when affairs are mixed — 
and so on, setting his prospects' creative 
factory working overtime, until his stub- 
born will yields and the deed is done. 

The sculptor stands before the block 
of marble, and with his "mind's eye" 
sees an angel; so with hammer and 



Impres- 
sionist 
School. 



52 



PLAIN REASONS. 



A 

Great 
Prophet. 



chisel he hacks and carves away — the 
great hall of his imagination unoccu- 
pied except by this individual, single 
vision. The painter, with brush and 
palette, reproduces on the canvas the 
image created by weeks of thought and 
painted by weeks of work — so ab- 
sorbed, so concentrated that he thinks 
of nothing else — one picture in the great 
gallery with bare walls on every side. 
But when the life underwriter sits down 
before the open grate and in the quiet 
evening hour casts the horoscope of a 
whole family's future — what visions, 
what pictures, what sculpture, what 
tapestry weaving, what castle-building! 
Imagination's great galleries are filled 
with conceptions most fitting, and yet 
none of the three may have ever 
dreamed of such things before. 

There you are I The successful so- 
licitor must have a versatile imagina- 
tion to adapt word pictures to the great 
variety of circumstances and needs. It 
is therefore apparent that an unde- 
veloped imagination means failure, and 
a vivid, well-trained imagination means 
success. With an inexhaustible supply 
of raw material, this mental faculty is, 
never at a loss, and with strength and 



Plenty 
of Raw 
Material. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



53 



Word 

Sketcher. 



skill is never unable to interest a pros- 
pect in the possibilities of an unknown 
future. The likelihood of things hap- 
pening and the uncertainty of life, both 
the bases of imagination's finest work, 
are the motives which move men to in- 
sure. We therefore place among ou,r 
greatest artists the skilled poet-painter — 
the life insurance solicitor — whose imag- 
ination can conceive varied forms and 
shapes and conditions — and combina- 
tions of such without limit, each fancy 
picture calculated to commend itself to 
another's responsive imagination. 

You would find it hard to think bf a 
life insurance solicitor with no imagina- 
tion. He would be a clam, a stick, a 
mere mathematician. He couldn't even 
say "NoW suppose," or "What if?" or 
"Just imagine," or "It might possibly 
be," or "How would you provide in 
case?" He couldn't look ahead to an- 
ticipate and discount the future. Poor 
fellow ! He would be as helpless as an 
automobile sans spark plug — no contact, 
no explosion, no power. Dear reader, 
cherish your creative faculty! Dream 
on; give fancy free rein; sing songs; 
"build more stately mansions;" see 
visions; paint pictures — and some day 



Be an 
Optimist. 



54 PLAIN REASONS. 

someone will say "There's a jolly good 
fellow. He's an optimist. He's doing 
his best to convert this sorrowful old 
earth into Paradise." 



PLAIN REASONS. 



55 



The Will, 

"I will not" is quite as impregnable 
as Gibraltar. "Not now," "See me 
again," "Perhaps about January I," 
"Too busy to-day, ' "Am not ready 
yet," "Don't feel the need of it," and 
a hundred kindred answers give the 
salesman a bright gleam of hope and 
a fine chance for argument. But when 
a prospect comes .out boldly and says 
"I won't," there is not much to be said 
and but little to be done. Contained in 
those two small words is a fixed and 
determined purpose — the free exercise 
of the power of choice — an arbitrary 
disposal of the whole matter by the use 
of the greatest gift the Creator made to 
man — the human will However, please 
do not forget that Gibraltar has been 
taken and retaken — and may be taken 
again. "I won'ts" have been melted 
down and recast into "I wills," and may 
be so moulded again. 

All salesmanship is nothing but trans- 
forming "Not to-days" into "All right, 



Taking 
Gibraltar. 



Expert 
Mould- 
ing. 



56 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Hard 

Fighting. 



go aheads" — "Nothing "doings" into 
"Well, I don't minds"— "You can't sell 
me any insurances" into "Yes, you can 
write me up for ten thousands." Just 
getting the other fellow to change his 
mind — simply overcoming his objections, 
removing barriers, disarming prejudice. 
You see, he has entrenched himself be- 
hind a bulwark of caprices, and by 
bringing his batteries of alleged reasons 
and silly excuses into action, makes a 
tremendous resistance and withstands 
many fierce assaults. A salesman's 
greatest ability is needed to cope with 
so formidable an opponent. 

The processes by which will wins vic- 
tory over will in Life Underwriting are 
so numerous and varied that a whole 
volume might be written about them. 
The business is no child's play. It calls 
for men. The battle is a royal one. 
The solicitor meets strong wills and 
weak wills — wills moved by reason and 
others obstinate as mules — wills in- 
fluenced by example and others not 
caring a straw for what friends and 
neighbors do— wills wooed by some 
keen sensibility and those untouched by 
any heart-throb — and so on] How to 
master all such forces calls not only for 



Peculiar 
Enemies. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



57 



Glorious 
Victory. 



all the arts and crafts of his trade, but 
also for the largest and most continu- 
ous exercise of his own will. 

The greatest achievement in the his- 
tory of our race is the mastery of men 
— otherwise defined as conquering wills. 
An instant, please! Suppose you en- 
gage in a business which requires you 
— forces you — to master men and to keep 
doing it. You are expected to conquer 
the greatest men in the professions, in 
business, manufacturing, agriculture — • 
every walk and vocation of life — men 
who think great thoughts, do great 
deeds, with mighty wills. You are to 
make them think as you think, will as 
you will and do what you want them 
to do. Have you an easy job? Nay, 
verily, but the hardest of all labor! Is 
victory sweet when you win? "Sweeter 
than honey and the honeycomb!" What 
effect would such an occupation have 
upon your own will? You can answer 
this and not try twice. Where is there 
any other vocation with so much to 
conquer, and "Foeman worthy your 
steel?" Nowhere! Just nowhere! 
This great business is sui generis! 

Don't think because there is conflict, 
your face is to lose its smile and your 



Sui 
Generis. 



58 



PLAIN REASONS. 



A New character its gracious atmosphere. Not 
Light. a bit of it! There is a wide difference 
between sullen dogged obstinacy which 
leaves its impress in heavy lines on 
the face and a glower in the eyes, 
and a quiet yet winsome insistence 
which loses none of its force because it 
gives a new light to the eye and a 
sunny glow to the whole countenance. 
In such a campaign your will acts as 
commander-in-chief, and issues a call 
for every function of the intellect and 
every affection of the heart to fall in 
line ready for action. Possibly failure 
may characterize eighty per cent of 
your interviews — perhaps some hard- 
bitted man may require a dozen en- 
gagements to make him surrender — then 
don't be surprised if a third will, your 
competitor, should "Shy his castor into 
the ring" and make a three-cornered 
fight of it. What of it? Hurrah for 
you! Your will holds the balance of 
power. If it doesn't, it ought to and 
can be made to. But, maybe you have 
a weak will. Very well. Just go up 
against stronger ones good and hard for 
five years, and then stretch a tapeline 
over the resistance, persistence and in- 
sistence developed. Yes, you will be 



PLAIN REASONS. 



59 



surprised. Or, if you are seized with 
a strong will, guide it squarely against 
the mighty arbitrary counter purposes 
of those greater than you — presto! Ob- 
tuseness has given way to finesse — 
your bluntness has become padded, you 
are no longer the obstinate fQol for- 
ever in trouble. 



Two Thoughts. 

(i) Be not deceived. Hanging 
around a man's office until you be- 
come a bore — a nuisance — and the man 
buys to get rid of you, that is not 
mastering men! He becomes your 
enemy. You have won nothing frortf 
him but contempt. 

(2) A man may yield and buy under 
pressure, but weakens and changes his 
mind after your influence is Withdrawn. 
Such a case is vanquished, subdued, but 
not mastered. Mastery goes deeper, 
converting the volition. 

There is a gray-haired adage which 
you will remember — "Where there's (x 
will, there's a way." Good for its 
age too. Did you ever see the three 
concealed ways? 

(1) The easy one — traveled by many 
— no great resistance— can keep In. the 



Think 
Twice. 



60 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Three 
Ways. 



path without much trouble — a lazy 
man's way — only a tiny oit of real 
genuine will needed. 

(2) The prescribed way — recom- 
mended by some genius who found it 
took him there by a somewhat shorter 
cut — you find it hard to follow, but you 
are determined to see whether the fel- 
low knew what he was talking about. 
Your foot is short and broad, his is 
long and narrow. Give him' back his 
shoes ! 

(3) The shortest and fc^fway. Your 
way ! You chose it, you made it ! There 
was no trail where you wanted to go, 
so you blazed one. Get it ? It was hard, 
rough, steep, slippery, dangerous, but 
suppose it was — think how well trained 
you were when you reached the goal! 
How easy it was next time! 

Just one concrete illustration! Sup- 
pose you wanted to insure a certain 
man for $io,oog* You know of no way 
— nor does anyone else. By your 
power of volition (will) you choose 
your method of work — then you work 
your plan. Time, friends, demands of 
one kind and another, are subordinated 
to your determined purpose. You have 
willed to do it. Do you falter? Never! 



A 

Wilful 
Purpose. 



PLAIN REASONS. 61 

Is your purpose changed? Not while 
life lasts! By such a process repeated 
again and again your will becomes 
larger, stronger, better trained, keener, 
steadier — and no other business does it 
so well. 



62 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Seven 
Slides. 



A 

Minute 
to Each. 



Some Functions of the Will. 

This may be a little dry, but it won't 
be long. Read slowly. 

Get your microscope and adjust the 
focus; here are a few interesting slides 
I want you to examine, magnified ioo 
diameters. They are so familiar to you 
that you may smile when you read the 
list. Briefly, they are patience, persever- 
ance, tact, cleanliness, preparation, ac- 
tivity, improvement — seven of them se- 
lected at random and every one a direct 
manifestation of volition — the human 
will. There are many more, which you 
yourself can study, if you are curious. 
Wipe oflf the eye-piece, turn the mirror 
to get the light. Now look ! Notice the 
fibre and coloring under the powerful ob- 
jective we are using — life underwriting. 

Here's patience — rich, deep, broad, 
timely. See how long-suffering glows 
with a beauty you never saw before. 
Standing out in bold relief are hard- 
ships cheerfully endured and failures in 
great number met without a word of 



PLAIN REASONS. 



63 



Avoid 

the 

Reefs. 



complaint. Perhaps never before have 
you seen the need of this wonderful 
virtue made so apparent. An impatient, 
word, or gesture, or a look, even, is dis- 
astrous. The voluntary exercise of 
this quality is quite apt to turn your 
fault-finding into optimism. Try it ! 

The next slide is perseverance — not so 
highly colored as some — but little change. 
Just plodding along, eyes on the mark, 
a good deal of very common sameness 
about the day's work. Hard enough for 
the strongest. See that big mark in the 
center? Well, that's purpose about 
which every other part of the function 
centers. Watch it for a few minutes; 
see any change? No, indeed! Notice 
those black spots on either side — those 
are the wrecks, the "dead ones." The 
race was too hard, so they just "Petered 
out" — a good many more of them can 
be seen at the bottom. 

Here is the most expensive slide iir the 
lot Took many years of experience to 
prepare it. Tact— common sense — very 
common sense intensified. Gumption. 
The "know-hozv" of life. Those are eyes 
you see on every side. Tact has no 
blind side, no defective hearing. All the 
senses are working every minute and 



You're 
No Dead 
One. 



64 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Eyes the wires to the memory, the imagina- 

Like a tion and reason, are kept hot with sug- , 
Fty- gestions. One of the greatest elements 

of success in this great business is tact. 
The possessor keeps out of the "awkward 
squad" by doing things right at the right 
time; he employs his wisdom in the 
minutest details so no one writes him 
down for a fool. As keen as a brier, it 
isn't necessary to tip a house over on him 
before he sees the point. Study tact — k 
will never grow tiresome. 

This spick-and-span slide is cleanliness. 
Same street with Godliness — next door. 
A close inspection reveals hands, face, 
teeth, clothes, linen, words, habits, etc. 
No evidence of filth, "bad odors/' un- 
sightly appearances, dirty habits, nasty 
talk. There is sweetness without nausea 
plainly seen. And in the lower left corner 
Wash is a little child typifying purity. Dirt of 

Up. any kind cannot be seen or endured. As 

soon expect a dirty tramp to be made wel- 
come in your beautiful clean home as to 
think that a foul and unclean solicitor 
can succeed in securing a nice volume 
of business. Wash up or stay out. 

The next is preparation — never com- 
plete, never quite satisfactory. You see 
a student poring over his books — 



PLAIN REASONS. 



65 



getting ready. Suppose some one asked 
him a question and he didn't know ! This 
slide resembles tact a little, for you will 
observe knowledge, observation and ex- 
perience in both. Those tiny spots are 
details, details — thousands of them held 
in the memory and available instantly. 
Don't make the serious mistake of think- 
ing this slide can be learned in a week's 
study. It takes many months to prepare 
for so great a work. Study and work — 
then work and study. 

Here's a peculiar view. Looks like a 
storm at sea. But it isn't ! It's activity 
highly magnified. Look closely — there is 
no aimless flopping, no nervous pros- 
tration! Here is energy employed — 
directed, of course. Here's enthusiasm 
tempered with reason. See those long 
lines ? Look like hairs — lazy hairs — but 
they are not. Those, dear reader, are the 
lines of the least resistance; easy to 
travel those roads, but no cushion-chair 
habit will be allowed to interfere with the 
solicitor's progress — he hasn't the time 
to loaf. Don't waste very much time 
watching the lazy man. 

Now for the last one — improvement. 
See the man with a gun — aiming high! 
Can you read the word at the right ? No 



Go 

Into 

Training. 



Get 
Busy. 



66 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Measure 
Up, 



— well, here it is : "Excelsior" — not satis- 
fied with yesterday. Better to-day, to- 
morrow — must climb higher and still 
higher. Here is ambition pricking the 
will with a bodkin. No conceit. Chest 
normal size — expansion normal. In the 
center of the picture is a thermometer 
graduated to boiling point, symbolic of 
the improvement expected of one en- 
gaged in so wonderful a business. Here's 
your measure — bigger, wiser, stronger, 
keener, abler, surer every day 1 

Put away the microscope. 

Now reflect for sixty seconds. All 
these splendid qualities are yours for the 
willing. If you choose to, you can have 
them. You cannot sell insurance with- 
out them, so either you must have them 
before you enter the business or develop 
them after you get in. Without fear of 
successful contradiction, I affirm, that 
whatever qualities you may possess when 
you start out for your maiden applica- 
tion, no other business will force you to 
know yourself and develop these great 
functions within you more quickly or 
more thoroughly than life underwriting. 
And this might not be the poorest, 
weakest reason why you should think 
seriously of engaging in it. 



Know 
Yourself. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



67 



The Affections. 

Ever study moral philosophy? Well, 
it's dry as chips ! Haven't even a home- 
opathic dose with me, so don't be 
alarmed. 

Just for fun, get a copy of Ro- 
get's Thesaurus of English Words and 
Phrases. Great book ! Notice how The 
Affections are classified into General, 
Personal, Sympathetic, Moral, Religious. 
Each one is divided and sub-divided — 
scores of them! Now sigh just once, 
then throw the book into the fire or give 
it to some college professor. 

Five of these qualities (all the rest are 
rejected) shine with the brightness and 
beauty of the morning star. It is a 
pleasure to name them — Hope, Courage, 
Courtesy, Friendship and Love. 

They are so common on your own 
tongue and so often in your own heart 
that they need no definition, and but lit- 
tle elaboration. 

Like advice ? Here's a speck : Never 
engage in any business or occupation or 



The 

Morning 

Star, 



68 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Every 

Man 

Carved. 



profession which does not afford a cul- 
ture ground for these superb virtues. 

Now, we'll go on. Out of the heart 
spring the issues of life. Heart O. K., 
issues right ! Heart wrong, issues wrong ! 
Sounds like a sermon — 'tis ! 

But what has life underwriting got to 
do with virtues like these ? What is there 
in this business calculated to bring into 
bud, bloom and fruitage these excellent 
sensibilities? Everything, dear reader, 
everything. Following are some condi- 
tions that carve out a man's character: 
Mixing with his fellowmen, being digni- 
fied under the scorpion sting of ridicule, 
smiling sweetly when defeated, making 
friends on every side, loving his brother, 
daring to do right, hoping against failure. 
Each one of these does its paring, cutting, 
shaping of the thing called character. 
No man who is hopeless, a coward, a 
boor, no friends, and hates everybody 
and everything can be a successful sales- 
man, especially of life insurance. Meet- 
ing thousands of possible customers, no 
two of them alike, a life solicitor is in a 
training school where these five qualities 
are developed by contact, experience and 
observation. If a single one is missing 



No 

Missing 
Link. 



PLAIN REASONS. 69 

from his heart he cannot win. Every one 
is positively essential. 

There's hope. Wasn't it lucky that all 
human ills escaped from Pandora's box 
and only hope remained? Good story. 
Hope springs eternal. Hope expects 
with confidence — anticipates with desire. 
Ever see a man or woman without hope ? Heart 
No friends, no money, morbid, de- Ke P* 
spondent, despairing — the river ! Young. 

Thank God for hope! Every decent 
man wants a stronger, hardier variety; 
and even late in life, when his arteries 
begin to harden, will do a great deal to 
keep his spirit young and his face free 
from wrinkles. 

How does hope grow stronger? An 
example: You are soliciting insurance. 
An acquaintance meets you on the street ; 
"Can you come up to my office to-mor- 
row ?" A friend says, "Say, Billy, see 
Jones; think he's in line for a policy." 
Another, "Will your company take a man 
who has been operated on for appendi- 
citis." Your heart gets big with the 
promise of success and the world seems 
bright. Then think of the developing in- 
fluence of a thousand cordial receptions, 
a thousand strong endorsements and a Early 
thousand friendly tips ! In such a fertile Variety. 



70 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Like a 
Lion. 



soil and under such a glorious warm sun- 
light will this virtue ripen quickest and 
best. 

Did you ever hear someone playfully 
speak of the "Nerve" of a life underwri- 
ter ? Quite likely. And why ? Because 
the brave chap had the courage to tell 
some weak, heedless brother that he ought 
to discharge his duty to his family. How 
would you like to possess these qualities : 
Valor, Mettle, Fortitude, Manliness, 
Self-reliance? Good thing to have, eh? 
Well, they are nothing but courage. 
"Courage is firmness of spirit and swell 
of soul that meets danger without fear." 
Call it "Nerve, Backbone, Spunk, Con- 
fidence," or what not. Take notice : Any 
salesman who cringes like a coward and 
who acts as if he were such a nuisance 
that he ought to apologize for being 
around, better quit ! He can't sell goods. 
Real courage is calm, dignified and un- 
disturbed by great stress or opposition. 
Much of it is demanded in order to meet 
on equal ground those who are mighty in 
thought and deed — and especially those 
who place a very high estimate upon 
themselves. There is a vast difference 
between brazen-faced impudence and real 
courage; between rushing in like a fool 



Don't 
Apolo- 
gize. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



71 



Vintage 
of 76. 



where angels fear to tread and man- 
liness ; between a bold, unblushing, "bull- 
dozing" and an unruffled confidence 
which inspires faith. Be very careful, 
dear reader, to develop that brand of 
courage which has something behind it 
besides effrontery. Maybe you could 
use the vintage of '76 — Washington at 
Valley Forge! Remember? If life un- 
derwriting doesn't give you a refined 
quality of fearlessness, nothing else in 
the world will. 

All the world likes what moderners 
term "A jolly." The glad hand some- 
times gets what words fail to bring. It 
pays to be courteous without palaver or 
condescension. Courtesy is the key- 
stone in this arch of virtues. It is so easy 
to be polite when all is sweet and things 
are coming your way; but when things 
go wrong, your nerves are on edge and 
people seem gruff and indifferent, it is 
another thing to be urbane and civil. 

Genuine refinement will win people, 
whatever their training, more quickly 
than any other quality. There is a certain 
elegance about real good breeding that 
has a salutary effect upon men every- 
where. A good salesman must be a gen- 
tleman, affable and genial in his treat- 



The 

Key- 

stone. 



72 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Good 

Advice 

Cheap. 



ment of prospects. In approaching men 
to sell them what they ought to have, but 
what they don't want now, one must 
be frank and manly, with manners like 
Lord Chesterfield, to break down the bars 
of reserve and opposition. The polite- 
ness of a successful insurance man is 
almost an axiomatic fact. He has a 
world-wide reputation for courteous be- 
havior, principally because he fails if 
boorish, ungentlemanly, cold or over- 
bearing. Carry a smile — but not the 
sickly kind. Take in good part jokes 
and other personal allusions. Be cordial, 
gracious, neighborly. Repulsive, sar- 
castic, obtrusive, foul-mouthed, peevish 
manners — just naturally must be trans- 
formed, or your biographer will write 
"Failure." 

Friendship is like a box — as wide as 
faith extends, as long as faith lasts, as 
deep as faith penetrates — filled with 
love. You have many good friends — 
you know! 

If you subtract confidence from 
affairs social and commercial, you would 
tear asunder all friendships and ruin 
all business. Every observer knows 
that the great structure of business of 
all kinds has its enduring foundation 



A Full 
Box. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



73 



deep down in the trusted words that 
are kept inviolate and in an unbroken 
faith that honest methods of manufac- 
ture and sale and exchange will be con- 
tinued. 

In the individual case here's the 
process: A stranger calls on you, in- 
troduced by a mutual friend; as you 
get acquainted a feeling of respect 
springs up; you begin to have faith in 
him — more and more as he "rings 
true" ; shortly you smile when he calls 
and look for him when he doesn't ; time 
goes on, mutual confidences are ex- 
changed, and love comes creeping into 
your hearts — you're friends. The 
greater the respect, the firmer the 
faith; the deeper the love, the sweeter 
and more enduring the wonderfully 
beautiful friendship. 

In salesmanship, every good "drum- 
mer" can number his friends by read- 
ing you the list of his customers. Do 
you remember the firm whose slogan 
in all their ads. is, "We are advertised 
by our loving friends"? If this is not 
also applicable to life underwriting the 
agent's work is lamentably done. You 
can seldom insure a man unless he is 
your friend. No one would buy from a 



Ringing 
True. 



A Big 
Trust. 



74 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Keep 
Secrets. 



salesman he does not trust, nor would 
the salesman be likely to trust the man 
he does not trust. (Read it again.) 

Hark a minute! When a man gets 
where he allows you to write his ap- 
plication, he is quite apt to tell you a 
great deal about his domestic affairs, 
possibly giving details more fully than 
ever before. He discusses with the 
utmost freedom the care of his dear 
ones after he is gone. His financial 
matters come in for an airing — why 
not? He trusts you! You are his 
friend. You have a grip on his heart. 
You are his attorney de facto to steer 
him right by wise counsels. You are 
his father-confessor, scrupulously to 
guard his confidence, for the tax-gath- 
erer, his partner, his pastor and even 
his wife may never know his secrets, 
plans and purposes so well. A solemn 
warning: lose your right arm before 
you prove recreant to such a trust. 

From that time on he is your helper — 
your advance agent — your advertiser — 
making friends for you right and left. 
Oh, he rings true — while you do! 

This great business is peculiarly a 
trust — don't jump! I do not mean a 
horrid combination of wealth or capital 



Silent 
Partner. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



75 



to restrain trade. No, no ! But a busi- 
ness built up from foundation to apex 
on faith. Every dollar of money paid 
to a corporation is a "trust fund," 
held securely — guarded legally — invested 
wisely against a day of sorrow and 
need. These dollars are referred to by 
the press as "fiduciary funds." Well, 
"fiduciary funds" are nothing in the 
world but trust funds, faith funds, 
friendship funds. When a policyholder 
pays his premiums from year to year it 
is because he trusts the trust. See? 
Look for his heart, where he puts his 
treasure. 

What a field for friendships! And 
how sweet they are to the end! Un- 
limited in number, refined in quality — 
provided, like Jonathan and David, the 
solicitor and the solicited have their 
hearts knit together by correct processes 
of work. A man once said to the 
writer: "I want to insure my three 
sons for $50,000 each as soon as they 
are old enough. While I have a 
brother-in-law in the business, no one 
can have their applications but you." 
Little (?) things like this give one 
hypertrophied heart. Sure it makes 
you love the business ! And when you 



Find 

His 

Treasure. 



An Ox 
Heart. 



76 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Roses- 
Sunshine 
and 
Birds. 



get the confidence of such men you 
can't help loving them, too. 

Right here is where Love shines. 
Suppose you have been in the business 
long enough to have many such men 
who love you and whom you love, how 
will life appear? How will your path- 
way be strewn ? Will you have a greater 
inspiration? Will you find pleasure in 
labor? Will you be a better father to 
your children? Will it give you lofty 
aims, keep your honor virgin, and help 
you lead a pure life? Sure! You be- 
come a gentleman — more of a gentle- 
man — made so by friendship and love. 
Let me wind up this instalment by an 
illustration or two and a moral. I'll be 
brief. 

A porcupine has no friends, but he 
has very sharp quills, and uses them 
when anyone disturbs him. Great 
bristler ! Quills hurt, too. 

Bud a lemon seedling from a Wash- 
ington orange tree and you will grow 
the best navels. The sour, bitter nature 
of the natural tree has been made sweet 
and delicious (but not sickish) by mix- 
ing. Budding is an interesting process, 
humanly speaking, too. Maybe you need 
it. 



Bud 
Yourself 



PLAIN REASONS. 



77 



The great Sphinx in Egypt kept what 
he heard to himself. He never believed 
it, anyway. And what's the use of re- 
peating what you don't believe? 

Nitrate of silver is an excellent thing 
in photography. It makes plain glass 
very sensitive. Poor thing in a man's 
system, though. 'Twould ruin him. 

If you find it hard to see the point in 
each one of these simple illustrations, 
let me hear from you. 

If you dislike to meet people and are 
so absorbed in your own personal, sel- 
fish ends that you find no time to make 
friends, love your neighbor or your 
work, quit before you commence. You'll 
fail, sure! If you would be a success 
in this great line you must learn to love 
your daily toil; you must find joy in 
sweetening life; you must rejoice that 
you can extract the sting from sorrow 
and bring comfort and joy again to the 
desolate home. Oyez! Oyez! Room 
here for the man with a smile, a 
glad hand, a friendly word, a kind 
deed — and a great big heart! No one 
else need apply. 



Sh-h-h ! 
and 

Don't be 
Offended. 



Oyez ! 



78 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Funny 
Notions 



Temperament* 

In olden times physicians believed that 
in every human body four fluids existed 
— blood, phlegm, yellow bile (or choler) 
and black bile (or melancholy). On the 
relative proportions or quantity of these 
fluids, they believed a person's tempera- 
ment and even life depended. The idea 
still remains, although in a greatly modi- 
fied form. 

Nowadays, we say a fellow given to 
worry, imagining trouble, with a yellow 
complexion, has a bilious temperament — 
his system being full of yellow bile. Or, 
if one is ambitious, hopeful, clouds lined 
with silver, smiles that won't come off, 
he has a sanguine temperament — full of 
blood. You are certainly familiar with 
such form of temperament as choleric, 
belligerent, artistic, musical, mechanical, 
religious, roving, etc., all such terms ap- 
plying to the person who feels, deter- 
mines and does certain peculiar things 
so well that they make him distinct from 
his fellows. Is there a life insurance 



PLAIN REASONS. 



79 



Born So. 



temperament ? Are some men peculiarly 
qualified for this business ? 

"O, he's a born insurance man!" said 
a man at lunch recently, referring to a 
very successful solicitor. So? Did he 
know it when he was born ? Did he know 
it when a young man or when engaged in 
some other work ? Did he know it when 
he began to sell insurance? Does he 
know it now? When did it dawn on 
him, if at all? He has acted all along 
exactly as if he were not "To the manner 
born" — working away for all he's worth, 
trying to develop the best there is in him. 
If he fancied he knew it, one day when 
three big failures stared him in the face, 
he was much in doubt. There have been 
times when his friends said so, and other 
times when they were not so sure. 

Now, I'll admit that the great lights in 
the insurance firmament shine brightest 
in some phases — they seem to possess 
certain qualities which have united to 
give them added brilliancy. Call it tem- 
perament, if you will — say "They are 
born for this business," if you insist. No 
one knew it before they started and tried 
it out. They could be compared to a 
complex engine of many parts — never 
tested. Examine every bearing, tighten 



Stars of 
First 
Magni- 
tude. 



80 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Open 

the 

Throttle. 



Take 
the Full 
Count. 



every nut, oil every part, now turn on the 
steam. Hurrah ! it runs. It was "born" 
that way. You are just such a piece of 
machinery. Who knows whether you will 
run smoothly and do the work well, until 
the steam is turned on ? Nobody ! You 
don't know it yourself. You may have cer- 
tain qualities in your make-up in embryo 
— latent — that, if developed and tried out 
in this business, will give you great suc- 
cess. Maybe not! There is absolutely 
no way to tell except to "try it out" Men 
giving promise of success have failed in- 
gloriously. Others very unprepossessing 
and unpromising have won distinction. 

I have always believed that however 
well qualified by "temperament" a man 
might be for this business, another may 
by will and work approximate. 

Advice again — when you start in this 
business, whatever may be your opinion 
of yourself, don't "throw up the sponge" 
until you're licked good and plenty ! Give 
it a fair trial at least — fair to yourself, 
fair to the business and fair to your com- 
pany. How silly that young man was 
who thought to learn this, the greatest of 
all businesses, in three months — when he 
spent years learning to read and write 
well! How long should the trial last? 



PLAIN REASONS. 



81 



Say, two years of hard study and patient 
work — by that time you will know 
whether you are "bom for the business/' 
or not. 

Some qualities that might be construed 
as temperamental are worthy a thought 
or two. Take Personal Magnetism. You 
cannot mistake the man who possesses it. 
He seems charged with electricity — a 
bundle of live wires, a storage battery 
with tremendous voltage. It is perfectly 
natural — not a bit of it assumed — he just 
cannot help it. Others are drawn to him 
like iron filings to a magnet. Little chil- 
dren climb on his knee, friends hang on 
his words, near strangers give him their 
confidences and then wonder why. There 
exhales from his person a mysterious, 
psychic force — some call it mesmerism or 
hypnotism — whatever it is, it overturns 
powerful wills and sometimes wins vic- 
tories before a word is said. 

Then there is the Desire for Society — 
mixing — the man who likes to mix, likes 
friends, the social circle, the club, the 
lodge, the church. He is a good traveler 
— a summer and winter resorter, enjoys 
a day on field and stream, but not alone. 
It is as natural for him to seek the society 
of others as it is for a duck to swim. He 



Play the 

Game 

Fair. 



Carrying 
an 

Atmos- 
phere. 



82 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Good 
Mixer. 



Twenty- 
four 
Karats. 



feels the call of society as the caged wolf 
feels the call of the wild. Denied com- 
panionship, he would die. He is no an- 
chorite or hermit. Do not look for him 
in the cloisters of a monastery or apart 
from the world like some religious as- 
cetic. He is a hale fellow without getting 
under the table; companionable without 
being boisterous ; laughs at other fellows' 
stories; shakes hands as if he meant it. 
He has no trouble to mingle with college 
professors, theologians, business men, 
horny-handed farmers, artisans, politi- 
cians — he is a Knight-errant. 

Once more, the Gift of Tongues — the 
command of language. Notice I say 
"Command" — control! Just like an en- 
gineer with a strong hand on the throttle 
— fast or slow, but perfect control. 
Again, take notice I say "Language." I 
mean thoughts expressed in words, not 
mere words strung out into talk — parrots 
and phonographs not wanted. Words 
fitly spoken are like apples of gold in pic- 
tures of silver. Silence is frequently 
golden, too. Back of language used must 
be brains — of silence, self-control. Too 
much talk oftentimes leads to too hasty 
action. The best talkers do not always 
get the business ; but the best talkers with 



PLAIN REASONS. 



83 



the best trained intellects and the best 
use of all inherent faculties seldom fail 
to get the business. A good listener finds 
reason for changing the line of argument 
— a good listener learns a lot — a good 
listener is able to make helpful sugges- 
tions. At the psychic moment the right 
talk is like driving a nail through the 
wood and clinching it. A rapid-fire gun 
isn't worth a penny in manoeuvre, but 
planted on some vantage point at the 
right moment, it is indispensable and may 
turn the tide of battle. 

Dear reader, if you enter this business 
you will be sanguine, sure ! Zealous, too ! 
It will take crucible steel to stand the hot 
shot of your so-called temperamental na- 
ture. Within you is great power. The 
moment you begin work, tremendous dy- 
namics are created — you have marvelous 
skill — practice makes your work a fine 
art — you have power with men — you are 
tactful in shaping events — you find your- 
self accumulating sufficient wealth, and 
it may dawn on you some day, just after 
you have written a man for half a million 
of insurance, that you were born for the 
business — a thoroughbred, so to speak — 
the ideal insurance man. 



Rapid 
Firing. 



$500,000. 



84 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Peculiar 
Men. 



A Little 
Scotch. 



Polish. 

A mutual friend confided in me the 
other day that you were a trifle pe- 
culiar — a "little queer" at times. Per- 
haps others have accused you of act- 
ing strange, being funny or very odd. 
Don't let it worry you. The same 
things are said of everyone — by some- 
one. It is barely possible you flatter 
yourself that you are a perfectly nor- 
mal, evenly balanced, uniformly devel- 
oped man. Eh ? Well, take notice, this 
very flattery makes you somewhat pre- 
tentious — a trifle puritanical. A close 
observer might even say you were ec- 
centric. Anyway, the atmosphere you 
carry with you would give your opinion 
of yourself dead away. 

Diogenes with his lantern would find 
it very hard to locate a man who did 
not possess some mannerism or habit 
of look, talk or action. Sandy Mc- 
Tavish was right when he said, "All the 
warld is queer but you and me, Jock, 
and sometimes I hae ma doots o' you." 



PLAIN REASONS. 85 

Yes, it is true ! Everyone is a little 
out of plumb, a little short of absolutely 
square, not exactly round. Now, do a Few 
not misunderstand me. I do not mean Bars, 
to imply that you possess some unusual 
deformity or abnormal growth which 
makes your very presence obnoxious. 
I am not referring to such unhappy 
possessions as a hare-lip — very large 
ears — six fingers — African blood — a bad 
prison record — or three divorced wives. 
No ! For any one of these and a hundred 
others equally bad might be an insuper- 
able bar to your success in this busi- 
ness. 

But listen; there are some eccentric- 
ities not so pronounced, but which 
might hinder your development very 
materially. Without your knowing it 
you may be bizarre, out of tune, smug, 
self - conscious, pedantic, sentimental. 
You may overact, be given to flattery, Mirror. 
be conceited, indulge in boasting, be too 
sensitive, be nervous, lose your temper 
easily, be too familiar, etc. What of it? 
Just this — a prophecy. The first month 
you are in this business you will lose 
two of your prominent corners, and pos- 
sibly your enlarged conceit will get a 
hard jolt — so suddenly and from such 



Get a 



86 



PLAIN REASONS. 



an unexpected source that you will be 
the most surprised man in the county. 
Your face will get very red, then the 
humor of it will dawn on you; you 
will make a careful examination of 
yourself, and it will never happen again. 
First lesson. 
A few weeks afterward, from an 

Experi- unlooked - for quarter, a censorious 
critic will make some caustic remark 
about one of your unduly exposed man- 
nerisms — nearly a lifelong habit — and 
you will succumb to weakness and cha- 
grin. Never again will it be exposed. 
Second lesson. 

Then in an unguarded moment you 
will run squarely against your oppo- 
site — the negative pole. You will be 
charged with tremendous voltage. Re- 
sult — a powerful spark, a big noise, and 
a few minutes' time before equilibrium 
is established. There was no harm 
done — nor business, either! Next day 
your batteries are not so heavily 
charged. Third lesson. 

The keen edge of another's genuine 
refinement cuts your boorishness to the 
quick. Ouch! A storm of laughter 
sweeps your dignity temporarily into 

Refinery, oblivion. Get off the pedestal! — And 






PLAIN REASONS. 



87 



the process goes on. In one way 
or another you are melted, moulded, 
ground, rubbed, electro-plated and pol- 
ished — every day leaving you less angu- 
lar, less peculiar, less queer — with fewer 
foibles, fewer cranky notions — brighter, 
more attractive, more winsome. 

Of course, you may be obstinate and 
refuse to be polished. Time may leave 
you unchanged, an unfeeling world de- 
velop only bitterness, and experience 
find you unteachable. Nothing doing! 
Into the junk heap you go. If it is 
foreordained that you "J ust won't 
stand for it, so now," better never enter 
the business. Stay by your present 
job, where no one cares how you act — 
even you yourself don't care, if no one 
cares. 



A word about polish. Who is a pol- 
ished solicitor? As I see him, he is 
just himself made natural, a gentleman 
who would grace any social or business 
function. If he has oddities, no one 
easily sees them — they are so modified 
and concealed. He has a refinement 
which is the outgrowth of a purifying, 
sweetening, brightening, uplifting con- 
tact with thousands of others. He 
shines so clearly in conversation that 



Old Junk. 



Self-Illu- 
minated. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



listeners pay tribute. He is a cosmopo- 
lite — a citizen of the world. It is easy 
for him to be mayor of a city, president 
of a bank, or preside as chairman of a 
convention. In his presence you feel 
at ease. 

After all, it is rubbing up against the 
world that puts the finishing touches 
upon real manhood. 

That's it! Hard rubbing. A polish- 
ing that puts a bright lustre on your 
Bear It nerve, your brain, your heart, your very 
Bravely. sou j # j± grinding that removes the out- 
side roughness and reveals the spark- 
ling diamonds of your deeper inner na- 
ture. Don't wince when the emery 
wheel of harsh and bitter experience 
shapes you into proper form and brings 
out qualities you never knew were 
there, but rejoice, rejoice — except for 
the burnishing you would not have had 
a chance to shine! 

Hark back to the chap who broke 
his word repeatedly. How annoyed you 
were at first! But, after he did it 
seventeen times, your patience was the 
talk of the office. How it shone! 

Remember that day when you failed 
so disgracefully — had such splendid 
prospects, too ? How those cuss words — 



PLAIN REASONS. 



89 



oh, well ! Since then, failure to-day 
means more courage to-morrow — a 
smile, a set jaw! Bully! 

Once when business came with a rush 
you had to send to New York for a fit. 
Many successful days have shown you 
a nearby hat store where you can easily 
find your size. How such a jewel 
sparkles ! 

Now you can be calm when all about 
you are losing their heads — you can 
wait ten years and not be tired of wait- 
ing — you can be lied about and not lie 
back (too busy) — you can consort with 
princes and not get chesty — you can A 
interview an obstinate fool as if he 
were your equal — and so on, until you 
have become a brilliant man, admired 
even by your competitors. The many 
finishing touches leaving you shining 
and bright could never have been done 
by any other business half so well. 



90 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Study 
Lagoons. 



Like 
Iron 
Filings. 



Influence. 

Life is universal. There is no death — 
what seems so is separation. If a man 
thinks to isolate himself from his fel- 
low-men (an impossible thing) — first, 
he stagnates, then dries up, just like 
some lagoon the shifting sand has cut 
off from the main body of the ocean. 

Mixing with the world develops en- 
ergy — touching elbows starts dynamics. 
Contact of mind and heart creates a 
subtle but no less far-reaching power. 
Every man carries an atmosphere, the 
diameter of which is simply the attrac- 
tion he unconsciously exerts. Wherever 
he goes, whatever he does, this in- 
tangible, immeasurable force touches 
other lives. 

Radiating from his personality, liv- 
ing particles (like radium) burn their 
way into the intelligence, the will, the 
affections of others, shaping and mould- 
ing them more and more like his own. 
This wonderful thing common folks call 
influence. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



91 



By this force, strong men, silently but 
surely, compel the weak ones to follow. 
By this force, the wise and prudent 
easily secure the support of the sim- 
ple. By this force, the courageous dis- 
arm the cowardice and indecision of 
the fearful and hesitant. By this force, 
the righteous get a grip on the wanderer 
and bring him back into a right line of 
action. 

Behold! Whoever enters the great 
business of life underwriting must neces- 
sarily invest everything he is in it. — Is, 
I said! Invest, I said! — His influence 
must go in — all of it! Investing in- 
fluence — risky? Say, if your own life 
doesn't radiate the right kind of power, 
keep out! You don't need a surgeon's 
knife to open your understanding. 

To be more specific. — Hear ye! In 
practice, the bright, winsome solicitor 
who secures the application is the com- 
pany. He stands for it. What does 
the applicant care about the great cor- 
poration whose name is so beautifully 
engraved on his policy? What does he 
care about the company's history, stand- 
ing, rating, reserve, assets, surplus — 
pother! An upright man represents 
these several things. He is sponsor. 



Great 
Leaders. 



What 
Do You 
Radiate? 



92 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Are You 
Afire? 



Some 
Good 
Jobs. 



He vouches for them all by his word 
and look. A spark from his life burned 
its way into the applicant's, and he was 
all ablaze. — There you are ! 

But this is only one little corner. 
Breathe here a minute, dear reader! I 
affirm that nowhere else in the world is 
there a field offering so wide a range 
for your radio-active influence. If one 
is seized with a desire to live a useful 
and educational life (and all should be), 
where you are is the place, now is the 
time, life insurance is the business. 

How would you like the job of mak- 
ing better husbands — wiser and more 
tender fathers — more useful citizens ? 
Help yourself. 

How would you feel if you knew 
that, while singing at your work, the 
lives you touched would be full of 
song? And the smile you dispensed as 
you held a shield over the widow and 
orphans, would you like to see it come 
back a hundred times sweeter? Help 
yourself. 

And, oh, yes! Would you like to be 
adopted into many homes as a member 
of the family, with your name loved — 
a plate at the table and a chair at the 
fireside? Help yourself. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



93 



These are a few of the dividends from 
the proper investment of this unlimited, 
expansive thing called "influence." — 
There are many others. 

Cut loose from the home a minute. 
Did you ever think that the life solicitor 
was the most powerful single agency 
employed to do away with the poor- 
houses and close up the criminal courts — 
making life everywhere worth living? 
Influence. Did you ever attempt to 
calculate the vast sums he was con- 
stantly adding to the nation's wealth and 
so to its prosperity? Influence. 

Believe me, this solicitor may be 
called intelligence in motion, and, there- 
fore, the schoolmaster to thousands who 
cherish his tuition; or, better still, char- 
acter electrified, charging the lives he 
touches with every element he himself 
possesses. 

If, perchance, he is a manly man, 
from his manhood there pours a living 
crystal stream of real nobility, which 
helps to better every human standard. 
He knows men. He meets thousands 
of them. He persuades them. His in- 
fluence reaches and touches every phase 
of social, business and political life. If 
you ever "get into the game/' you will 



Close the 
Poor- 
House. 



Living 
Water. 



94 



PLAIN REASONS. 



comprehend the tremendous power a 
life solicitor exerts — you, yourself, will 
be such a magnet to draw men. You 
will also realize that the proper exer- 
cise of this force will react to make you 
a stronger personality and a better citi- 
zen. You will find your genius expand- 
Biggest ' m S — your art more admired — your lead- 
Returns, ership more strategic — your thinking 
less shallow — your labor more produc- 
tive. 

Don't sneer. These are not merely 
platitudes. Influence — in, fluo — Latin, 
"flowing into" Watch the indicator. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



95 



Short Toots. 

How about your health? Nothing 
more important. Certainly one in poor 
health has no business soliciting. Are 
you tuberculous, subject to sick head- 
aches, indigestion — or ailing in any way 
enough to make the corners of your 
mouth droop? And you can't get over 
whatever it is; by all means, stay out! 
Here is the place where good health 
and high spirits count. Yes, sir! Rich 
red blood, a clear eye, a pure breath, 
a clean skin — a dozen other things 
akin — give color and flavor to every in- 
terview. 

True, the open air and much walk- 
ing give added physical training — come 
vigor and strength. If you can prop- 
erly conserve your time and labor, you 
should live to be a hundred. Why not? 
Anyway, if you have been shut up in 
shop or office, this work will clear your 
complexion, improve your digestion, 
quicken your circulation and put new 
springs into your activities. Believe me, 



See a 
Doctor. 



A 

Hundred 

Years. 



96 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Blood 
Pressure. 



all imaginary ills will quickly "fade 
away/' 

And get rid of another foolish idea — 
the disqualifying of old age. Pure non- 
sense! A life solicitor is like a good 
tool — improves with age and use. Value 
attaches to conditions within rather than 
elements without. Keep the heart 
young, and the happy owner never 
grows old. Ten talents used are not 
wasted, but foot up twenty in due sea- 
son. Unlike the professions and many 
occupations, life underwriting develops 
a buoyancy and virility which keep 
one off the shelf even at ninety — if at 

all successful. 

* * * * * 



In Fee 
Simple. 



It is an interesting scientific fact that 
pearls laid aside and unused soon lose 
their lustre and ere long crumble and 
decay. Good ! Now, take a square look 
at yourself and then make a list of the 
faculties and qualities you possess. 
This is your string of pearls! They 
gather strength and beauty as you em- 
ploy them or disintegrate and rot when 
folded in a napkin and laid away. What 
a pity, if a single excellence you are 
"seized with" should not be more mani- 
fest in growth! 



PLAIN REASONS. 



You are not you, if only half en- 
gaged in the struggle for success. 
Ergo, be fair to yourself, by putting 
your time, energy, brains, heart, spirit — 
every whit, every bit — into your ap- 
prenticeship, so that you get the largest 
percentage of efficiency. Much depends 
upon your start. A year's experience 
will give you a better control, but your 

start needs a square deal. 

***** 

Then — be fair to the business. Why 
not? It's no infant's rattle, to be 
shaken for a moment and tossed aside 
for a more attractive toy. Nay verily! 
Men spend years preparing themselves 
for law, medicine, engineering, farm- 
ing, manufacturing, railroading. A 
great painter said it took him all his 
life to paint a certain picture. Now 
take heed! There is no work, of any 
kind, in all the world requiring more 
thought, greater genius, better training, 
larger experience, superior skill. I am 
wide awake, and realize what I am 
saying. Far be it from me to belittle 
the three great professions, or cast any 
slur upon labor of any kind however 
exalted or humble; but I will not stand 
for any cheapening of this princely em- 



97 



100%. 



Compare 
It. 



Crown 
It. 



98 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Pioneers. 



ployment, this very acme of human en- 
deavor. — You will find my opinion of 
this business running like a thread all 
through this book. No apologies, thank 
you! — So! Study it faithfully, prac- 
tice it thoroughly — give it time, thought, 
effort which you ought, to develop the 
very best there is in it. Who knows 
what new stars you might discover 
while searching the heavens for possi- 
bilities? Who knows what new pro- 
cesses you might invent while experi- 
menting in the great laboratory of big 
business? Who knows what rich veins 
of pure gold you might uncover while 
digging into financial affairs? 

What will be your measure? You 
have asked me to prophesy. Can't do 
it. Am not the seventh son of a seventh 
son! But, I can illustrate. Look at 
your house thermometer. Notice its 
graduated scale. Now, you know abso- 
lute cold is a long way below zero, and 
absolute heat is a long way above the 
violet rays in the hottest flame yet pro- 
duced. Exactly! Illustrates success 
pretty well, doesn't it? 

Absolute failure — absolute success! 
Never! No such things! — But, listen! 
Somewhere between the "down-and-out" 



Boiling 

or 

Freezing. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



99 



point and the "up-and-shout" point the 
historian will find your record. — It may 
be 32 degrees — or 212 degrees; who 
knows ? 

There will be plenty near the bulb. 
Never were very warm. Satisfied with 
rations for one day. Not a horrible 
failure — not a brilliant success. Just 
ordinary — very ordinary ! 

But look a little higher up. There's 
a fellow you used to know as a boy. 
Never was very bright in school. But 
you well remember how he used to hang 
by his teeth to a strap while suspended 
in air. Showed his character. Had 
great strength in his set teeth — strong 
nerve, strong spirit, too! Letting go 
meant death ! — He wouldn't let go, if 
it took him ten years to win. He is 
100 per cent pure efficiency. He has 
gone as high as he can, but he stays 
there — no going back for him. Don't 
you admire the man who does his best, 
wherever in the scale he "cuts his 
niche"? I do. 

Still higher up is the boiling point. 
Many have reached it. Takes seven 
figures to measure their production. 
Observers say they are "wonders" ! 
But who ever estimated the time, 



Climb 
Up. 



Lock-jaw. 



100 



PLAIN REASONS. 



Seven 
Figures. 



thought and work contained in a "won- 
der" ? They were climbers, self-emu- 
lators, that's all. They rose by expan- 
sion — radiation — easily, naturally. Al- 
lowed no one to pass them. Maybe 
you are like that. Nobody knows. 
However, your correct measure will be 
exactly where you look for it — never 
above. 

* * * * * 

If you possess half the ability I be- 
lieve you have (else you wouldn't have 
read every word of this book so far), you 
can win and win big — but it will take 
longer than ninety days, more thought 
than a moving-picture show, and more 
hard work than you have ever given 
any other job. What of it? You have 
all the time you need, you have plenty 
of gray matter, and it is not beyond 
you to get a vice-like grip on the job. — 
Anything else needed? No! 

But, here is a red light : Some one 
of your overwise friends or sympa- 
thetic relatives will shake his head and 
sadly observe, "I told you so," "Was 
afraid you did wrong to change," 
etc. \ Smile a big smile ! Keep a run- 
ning! Knocking only makes a shoe- 



Some- 
thing 
Doing. 



Unsolic- 
ited 
Advice. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



101 



maker's knee less sensitive — hardier, 
more resilient. Be like such a knee. 

It won't be long before you can fling 
the lie back into his face. When you 
have your "second wind" you will strike 
a pace you can maintain. The business 
is worth all the first cost and overhead 
charge. Play the game fair! 

yfi, 3ft 3f» 3JC 3fv 

Who handed you this book to read? 
Probably some wide-awake, up-to-date 
insurance man. Good! I hope so. 
Just the same, look him up, whether 
you know him or not. By every honor- 
able means investigate him to the limit — 
his character, financial standing, busi- 
ness ability, social record, etc. If it is 
generally reported that "He is all 
right," believe nothing commonly re- 
tailed. Find out for yourself. Go 
slowly. Take no chance you can cir- 
cumvent. Begin right — no regrets. In 
this business you can choose the man 
you work for; so if your contract re- 
lations are not satisfactory it will be 
largely your own fault. 

And, what company does he repre- 
sent? Lots of good ones. No trouble 
to select one you will be proud to be 
identified with. Undoubtedly, he is with 



"Choose 

Your 

Partner.' 



L_J 



102 



PLAIN REASONS. 



a first-class, legal reserve, "old-line" 
company, with a splendid history, mod- 
ern policies, and all that. Good! I 
hope so. — But, take nothing for granted. 
Make further and searching inquiries. 
You will waste much time in undoing 
a wrong choice — far more than neces- 
sary to make a wise and right choice at 
the start. 

Well, now, if the man himself is 
"true blue" and his company "AAAi," 
sign ud and go to work. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



103 



Conclusions* 

Don't think you will fail as a life insur- 
ance solicitor simply because you have 
never been a large success at anything 
else. It doesn't follow. Maybe you have 
just been waiting for this. Prove up! 
Surprise your friends. 

Every word in this book is intended 
for women as well as men. Some of 
the most successful -field-workers (I 
like the term) in the life insurance 
business to-day are women. God bless 
'em ! Hats off, boys ! It has taken one 
generation for the gentler sex to learn 
that, in this business, they are the equal 
of men — that here is a large field — a 
lucrative field in which their brains, 
their industry and their social standing 
bring splendid returns. A toast to the 
noble women who have already shown 
their mettle by entering the contest with 
men! They have made records any 
man might envy. They have helped to 
dignify the business. There is room 
for more. 



Prove 
Up. 



Noble 
Women. 



104 



PLAIN REASONS. 



I 

Won't 

Work. 



Thanks! 



Just a word in private: If you have 
been doing nothing for a whole year — 
if you have been well and strong enough 
to take "three square'' every day at 
someone else's expense — if you are con- 
sumed with the idea that the world 
owes you a decent living without per- 
spiration — if you have peculiar views 
about the equal distribution of wealth 
and other great economic questions — if 
you don't believe in life insurance as 
one of the greatest blessings ever de- 
vised for the human race — if oh, 

what's the use? Keep out, Keep out, 
Keep Out! Join the I. W. W. Club. 

There! I knew you would think of 
a dozen Plain Reasons which have not 
been discussed on the preceding pages. 
Glad of it! Shows your "wires" are 
working. But, remember I warned you. 
Read first page over again. 

Permit me, however, to thank you 
for the very great compliment such a 
discovery has been to the author. 

When I was a bare-footed boy sharp 
stones would bruise my feet — bumble- 
bees would sting my eyes — a neighbor's 
angry bull would chase me from the 
meadow where wild strawberries grew — 
some of the school children would make 



PLAIN REASONS. 



105 



fun of me — occasionally I interviewed 
father in the shed — there were measles, 
chicken pox, mumps — troubles, disap- 
pointments, tears! But, I kept on 
growing, I continued learning, I whis- 
tled, I sang, I romped, I laughed — 
every day was so filled with joyous 
activity that sorrows were completely 
submerged, every to-morrow so big 
with promise there was no room for 
pain or regrets. 

Get the idea ? You are about to start 
in this great business. You will be a 
child in it before you become a man. 
There will come into your experience 
many trivial things that, considered 
alone, might be discouraging or deter- 
ring. They come to everyone, in every- 
thing. Charge them up to develop- 
ment. Whistle, sing, laugh! Dwell on 
the joys! Get larger visions! Learn 
to meditate upon the successes you have 
achieved and not the paltry failures 
that have only added strength to your 
manhood. 



Some 
Troubles 



Look 

For 

Stars, 

Not 

Spots 

on the 

Sun. 



PLAIN REASONS. 



INDEX. 



Take Notice 3 

Xo Money Needed 7 

Time Makes Demands 12 

Number of Customers Practically 

Unlimited VJ 

No Fixed Limit to Income 22 

Character of the Business 27 

High Regard of Public 31 

Solicitor Himself, The 35 

Memory 39 

Look at Reason 44 

Imagination 49 

Will, The 55 

Some Functions of the Will 62 

Affections, The 67 

Temperament 78 

Polish 84 

Influence 90 

Short Toots 95 

Conclusions 103 



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ART OF CANVASSING, THE.— HOW TO SELL LIFE IN- 
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ASSESSMENT LIFE INSURANCE.— A companion book to 
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BUSINESS INSURANCE.— By Forbes Lindsay. A concise de- 
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CHARTERS OF . AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COM- 
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COMPENDIUM OF OFFICIAL LIFE INSURANCE RE" 
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SURPLUS EARNED, including dividends in life insurance from 
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ELEMENTS OF LIFE INSURANCE (Revised Edition).— 
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HANDY GUIDE TO PREMIUM RATES, APPLICATIONS 
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INSURANCE SCIENCE AND ECONOMICS.— By Frederick L. 
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INSURANCE YEAR BOOK, THE— Issued July of each year. 
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LIFE AGENTS' PRIMER, THE.— By . William Alexander. Ex- 
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LIFE INSURANCE HISTORY, 1843-1910.— Presenting the 
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LIFE INSURANCE LAW CHART.— A summary of State laws 
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LIFE INSURANCE SALESMANSHIP.— By Thomas J. Hender- 
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NOTES ON LIFE INSURANCE.— The Theory of Life Insur- 
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POCKET REGISTER OF LIFE ASSOCIATIONS.— Statistics 
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PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF LIFE INSURANCE.— A 
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PROMINENT PATRONS OF LIFE INSURANCE.— A new edi- 
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ROMANCE OF LIFE INSURANCE, THE.— By W. J. Graham. 
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SELECTION OF RISKS BY THE LIFE SOLICITOR.— By C 
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SPECTATOR, THE.— An American Review of Insurance; pub- 
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SUCCESSFUL AGENT, THE.— Practical hints for the seller of 
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SYSTEM AND ACCOUNTING FOR A LIFE INSURANCE 
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VEST. POCKET LIFE AGENTS* BRIEF.— A synopsis of pre- 
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